A Wicked Witch, A Wounded Queen, Her Battered Thief & Someone's Baby
by 1 Jagged Outlaw Queen
Summary: Long live Outlaw Queen. the whole sickening menage is undone...and much, much more. Previously posted, but now edited to be more reader-friendly.
1. Part 1: Undone

**A Wicked Witch, A Wounded Queen, Her Battered Thief & Someone's Baby**

The following tale is a work of fanfiction written expressly for the Outlaw Queen fandom of the television program Once Upon a Time. Our story begins midway through season four and diverts from there.

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This story is dedicated to ever diehard Outlaw Queen fan, and especially to Rachel Thompson; who lived the adventure with me.

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 **Disclaimer:** I do not own, and I am not affiliated with the show, Once Upon a Time in any way. Nor do I own its characters. I just love them and think they should be treated better than they are. Unlike their creators, I do believe in happy endings. All credit for Once Upon a Time and it characters goes to Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis.

 **Author's Note** : As you read this, please remember that within the body of this story we skipped over Operation Dark Swan. There was no trip to Camelot.

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 **Part I: Undone!**

 **Chapter 1: A Wicked Wife**

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 **New York**

 **Baelfire's\Neal Cassidy's Former Apartment**

With Lily and Emma close by, Regina knocks vigorously on the door to apartment 407 wishing she didn't feel quite so unsettled; half excited by the anticipation of seeing him again and half terrified of what unknown thing might await her on the other side of the door.

"Robin!" She waits a mere second before knocking more forcefully. "Robin! Open up!"

The man sitting on the sofa inside the apartment looks at the door; startled by the unexpected and rather insistent knocking. He instantly finds himself in the throes of an odd mix of alarm and delight. He knows that voice. He knows that voice intimately.

For one fleeting flicker of time, he thinks he might be hearing things, but he dismisses that thought; shoving it out of his mind as quickly as it entered. Why is she here? Something must be wrong. Oh God, please God, let her be okay! Before he even realizes that he left the sofa, he's at the door, jerking it open.

Good lord, she's beautiful… Beautiful, worried, and scared.

Regina breathes a tortured sigh of relief at the sight of him. He's alive, in one piece, and absolutely glorious. Her darkened, battered heart literally arrests for a full beat before it gallops back to life in the confines of her chest.

"Regina!" He pulls her into a fierce embrace, kissing the top of her head as he folds his arms around her. "Wh..., what are you doing here?"

Trembling; she reaches out for, and clings to him the way a potential drowning victim clings to a lifebuoy. Reason tells her that she must answer his question, but she cannot. At this moment the only thing she can give voice to is the single reverberating thought burning through both her mind and her heart. "I've missed you!"

"And I you! But… What's going on?" They gently break their embrace and Robin nods in silent greeting to Emma, who is obviously pleased to witness their reunion, and Lily, the bored, and slightly hostile looking, dark haired woman whom he does not know. Without waiting for either to comment verbally, he resumes his conversation with Regina by repeating, "What are you doing here?"

Even though they take a polite half-step away from one another, as discretion demands, Regina leaves one hand on his chest. She needs to feel that he is solid, that he is real, that he's not just some apparition she craves.

"I can explain everything… But first, where's Marian?"

Robin wrinkles his brow in confusion. "She's at the store. Why?"

"Good! Then there's still time. But we have to act fast." Regina gently pushes him back into the apartment and follows with Emma and Lily close behind.

"What…W… What's this about?" He gestures with his hands as he talks.

"Marian!" Regina declares with a note of hostility that can't be missed. "We have to leave before she gets back!" She shakes her head with feeling. "She is not who she says she is."

"What?" Robin asks softly; squinting with incredulity.

"She's…" There's no easy way to say this so Regina takes a deep breath, squares her shoulders against the fight she senses is coming, and plows onward. "She's… Robin, she's my sister… Zelena."

Robin continues to gesture in wild confusion; as if literally trying to grasp the words. "The wicked witch?" His mind argues. "But… She's dead. We all saw that."

Before he can even finish the last sentence, Regina begins shaking her head emphatically. "Somehow… She tricked us and went back in time." Regina touches his chest gently, as though to soften the blow she knows the next words will deliver. "Robin…" She lowers her voice and starts hesitantly; apologetically. "She went back, and she… killed Marian. She took her place… to get back at me."

Robin literally takes a step back, as though putting some distance between their bodies will somehow clear the suddenly soiled air between them. He shakes his head with doubt. She can't be right. She just can't be, but somewhere in the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind the seedling of fear takes root and begins to sprout. Still, he tries to deny it. "No!" he breathes quietly. "This is madness!"

Before any sort of response can formulate on Regina's tongue, a voice in the still-open doorway questions, "Robin, what's going on… And what is SHE doing here?"

They turn to find Marian stepping over the threshold, holding a brown paper sack filled with groceries in front of her body as though bread, milk, eggs, or any other kitchen staple would somehow shield her from injury.

Regina speaks first; with scarcely veiled hostility. "it's over Zelena! I told him everything."

Zelena; disguised as Marian, slowly enters the room and steps close to Robin as though she knows he will protect her.

As she does so, Emma and Lily both wear matching expressions. The expression most commonly seen on the faces of people as they drive by the scene of an automobile accident that is bad enough to bring the medical examiner out of his morgue. Neither of them wants to watch the ugly scene they know is about to unfold before them, but they are paralyzed. Neither of them has the power to look away; to shield their eyes; to not see what they know they are about to see.

Once she is safely behind Robin, Zelena continues to play the confused and distressed damsel; milking Robin's obvious doubt for all it's worth. She eyes Regina as if she suspects that her sister has gone mad; been touched in the head. "And… Who, may I ask, is Zelena?"

Robin eyes Regina as if he doesn't recognize her. "Regina… You're scaring Marian."

"Good!" Regina verbally fires the word across the room." Through clenched teeth, and with pure disgust in her voice, she continues. "Where is the magic? You must have brought something to make this… glamour work. Where is it Zelena?" She demands; her voice rising to a threatening crescendo. "You show me, or I will rip you apart until I find it!"

Still of a mind to defend his wife, Robin shouts harshly, "Regina, that's enough! Look, I know this is hard… for all of us. But this is the new reality. I'm with her. I'm with Marian!"

As he says this, Zelena stands idly by; Marian's head cocked to one side with just the barest hint of a smug, self-satisfied smile playing at the corners of her lips. "Actually…" She draws Robin's heated attention away from Regina, and back to herself, as she reveals and holds up a pendant that encapsulates the six-leaf clover of Oz suspended from a golden chain around her neck. She holds the pendant between thumb and forefinger and focuses on it until it glows bright emerald green and she transforms; suddenly reclaiming her own image. "Hello dear husband." She smiles snidely

Robin jerks backward with a horrified look on his face.

A similar look can be seen on Lily's face as well, and she too takes a self-protective step backward as she quietly inquires of Emma, "What the hell was that?"

With nearly nonexistent surprise in her voice Emma whispers back, "That… was magic." The unspoken sarcastic words, "Welcome to my world." Hang silently in the air between the two newly reacquainted women.

Regina tries to reestablish control of the room with an air of finality in her voice. At least it's over now, she thinks to herself. "Come on Robin. We have to get you and Roland out of here."

Zelena smiles deviously while Robin looks as if he's on the verge of becoming physically ill, and quite possibly as though he is about to personally deliver someone's death warrant.

Motioning toward the door, Regina demands gently; trying to hurry him through his moment of shock-induced paralysis. "Robin… Get Roland… And let's go!"

Robin, though sickened by the truth, remains rooted in place.

With more than a hint of amusement in her voice, Zelena happily announces, "I think he still wants to stay."

Thoroughly confused, Regina moves to stand directly in front of Robin; seeking his full attention. "Robin? What are you doing?" She repeats with exaggerated patience; willing her nerves not to snap. "Get your son and let's go!"

Finally jarred beyond his initial shock, Robin objects in an apologetic but adamant tone. "No, I can't."

"Yes, you can." Regina assures in a tone of voice that implies everything will be alright. "Just come with me." She supplies direction; trying to make things easier for him. She tugs on his hand stepping backward; toward his front door. "Just come with me." She repeats. "Come on, let's go."

With the look of someone brokenhearted and lost, Robin declares gently, "I'm sorry. I can't." as though pleading with her to understand.

Everyone in the room wears a completely bewildered expression when he says. "I can't leave her here."

"What?" Regina demands with harsh incredulity.

In a tone that implies she has a juicy secret, Zelena smiles and asks quietly, "Do you want to tell her…" She savors the flavor of her next words before spitting them out… "Or should I?"

Zelena and Robin slowly pace in a tight circle. Zelena enjoying the fact that she's unnerving him; while Robin realizes that he's trapped. At this moment, he wants nothing more than to get away from this woman… But he can't. The tension in the room builds to an unbearable level. The air grows thick with perspiration, desperation, and some unseen but vividly felt, ugly thing that threatens to choke the life out of all of them.

"Tell me what" Regina demands; a quiet but unmistakable note of panic rising in her voice.

Robin, Zelena, and Regina all take turns looking at each other. Zelena's expression reveals delight while Robin looks horrified, and Regina sounds more than a bit like a frightened child when she questions quietly, "Robin?"

Unable to say differently, but desperately wishing he could; Robin is apologetic, dumbfounded and dazed when he murmurs the unavoidable truth. "She's pregnant."

While Robin is nothing less than revolted, for the first time since entering the room, Emma looks utterly astounded. Zelena wears the smile of a triumphant jackal who has just slain its prey and is settling in to enjoy the spoils. A myriad of emotions plays across Regina's face in rapid succession; shock, devastation, repulsion, grief, and hatred but not one of those is more intense than the final look that takes hold of her face; one of purely villainous homicidal intent. It takes a full three seconds for her to move, before they elapse, she stands rooted to the floor absent-mindedly flexing the fingers of her right hand in a menacing fashion.

Damn! Her mind thunders. No magic here! She silently reminds herself. Can't hurl an endless barrage of fireballs at the bitch's face. Angry beyond even the capability of rational thought, she tries to leave magically, and when that doesn't work either she silently curses herself. Finally, and without warning, she lunges; straight for Zelena's throat and rips the pendant off her neck with enough force to snap the chain.

As Zelena cries out, more from shock and indignation than pain, Regina turns on her heels, glares at Robin with equal parts pain and anger boiling in her dark eyes, and as she flees the apartment, she issues an order for Emma, "Watch her. She does not get to leave!"

Emma nods compliance and understanding even though Regina is no longer there to see it. She trots quickly to the door. Placing both hands on either side of the door jamb, she leans forward; sticking her head out into the hallway, she calls after the other woman's rapidly departing form. "Uh… Regina?"

Regina doesn't bother with turning around, making eye contact, or even slowing down; but she does growl a single syllable venomously "What?

"You… Maybe… wanna tell us where you're going?"

"Away!"

Emma nods, more for her own benefit than anyone else's as though telling herself she should've known the answer without needing to ask the question. "Coming back?"

Already considerably further away, Regina growls again; spitting out another single word as if it leaves a vulgar taste in her mouth. "Eventually!"

Emma nods again and drums her fingernails idly against the door frame before putting her hands on her hips. Turning around, she realizes that Robin is literally at her heels, frantic to get through the door she's blocking. Without comment, she sidesteps quickly, allowing Robin to pass through. "Don't let Zelena leave. He repeats her sister's order; hurrying off after Regina, until he stops momentarily with an afterthought. "Emma, do you mind listening for Roland in case he wakes. He's sleeping in his room."

Emma nods and shoos him away haphazardly. "Don't worry about the kid. My watch! Just go!"

Without turning around, he waves in gratitude, flies down the hallway, and takes the stairs two at a time in hot pursuit of one angry woman.

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Tarzan In New York**

* * *

 **New York**

 **Two blocks from Baelfire's\Neal Cassidy's Former Apartment**

Agitated, his breathing slightly labored, Robin slows his pace and turns in a slow, wide circle on the New York City sidewalk where he stands. He's lost her again. It took him several long seconds to spot her after leaving the apartment. Weaving in and out of the city's pedestrian foot traffic he'd temporarily lost sight of her a few times. but he'd always been able to spot her again within mere seconds. She isn't exactly easy to miss.

Of two minds, part of him wants to laugh. Ah Regina, she's not going to make this easy. That's not who she is. She's going to put up a fight. Not that he didn't expect her to; not that he would even want her to be anyone other than precisely who she is.

"Okay… Okay you don't have to make it easy, but can't you at least slow down!" He argues with her in his mind.

His silent protest remains unanswered. In frustration, he turns once more, still looking for a clue as to which direction she's taken. He doesn't find one. What he does find is a vantage point. Trotting a short distance, he climbs up; standing on the seat of a sidewalk bench and from there, he moves to the top of a nearby trash can and balances precariously; using iron post of the street lamp beside it to help steady himself.

A few pedestrians do take notice of him, but for some reason that he still hasn't quite gotten used to, no one here seems to think it's odd to find a grown man with a slightly frantic expression on his face standing on top of city property.

Catching sight of him, a ruddy-faced New York City mounted police officer, who's old enough to be nearing the age of retirement grins, removes his cap, and scratches his head in wonder as he approaches slowly. He studies Robin for a single second and although he decides the man before him doesn't quite look as though he belongs here in this city, the cop and his noble equine partner sense no threat or cause for alarm.

Glancing upward, with just a hint of a smile behind his streetwise eyes, the officer calls out in a thick Irish brogue "Hey, you there? Who do ya think ya are; Tarzan?"

Chuckling to himself, Robin jumps down from his lofty perch and lands nimbly on his feet. Knowing it's best not to tell a member of the NYPD the complete truth, he shakes his head as he approaches slowly; making sure that he's well within the horse's field of vision. He reaches out, offering to shake hands with the officer as he gently pats the horse's neck. "Name's Robin. I was just trying to get a better view of things."

The officer studies him for another two seconds. "Ya got the look of a fella who's loss something…" The cop pauses to look around at the crowded city sidewalk. "Or maybe someone." He guesses astutely.

The grimace on Robin's face tells him just how right he is even before Robin confirms. "I'm looking for a woman."

The cop turns his face to the sky and laughs. "Well now, ain't we all!"

Robin chuckles dryly before clarifying, "I'm looking for a specific woman."

"Maybe I can help. What's your lady look like?"

Robin gestures with his hands as he talks. "About this tall. Dark hair, impossibly dark eyes, slender. She doesn't smile a lot, but when she does, it's one you wouldn't soon forget. People notice her."

The cop nods. "You're saying she's a stunner. Stops traffic, does she?"

Chuckling quietly, because she'd probably hate this conversation, Robin nods and murmurs, "You have no idea."

"What's she wearing? Any identifying features?"

Robin must think about it for a long three seconds. Her clothes at the least interesting thing about her and when she had showed up at his door so unexpectedly he hadn't cared one whit what she was wearing. She could have been dressed in a weather-beaten burlap sack for all he bloody well cared.

"Black leather jacket, and boots, and a form-fitting dress the color of red wine…" He thinks about it for a second longer and decides to admit, "And right now she's angry."

"Ah, she's miffed at ya, is she?"

Robin shakes his head adamantly. "Miffed doesn't even begin to cover it. More like, hot-blooded - enough to eat someone's soul."

The cop winces; as though the description alone causes pain. He clicks his tongue against the inside of his cheek. "Tough break. I don't know what you did lad, but if she really is that hot tempered, maybe she should stay lost. Are you sure you truly want her found?"

Robin nods. "More than anything."

The cop shakes his head, clicks his tongue again, and tugs gently on his reins. His horse's hoofs clop noisily as the animal prances in place on the city pavement; signifying he's ready to move when told to do so. The officer turns his mount but pauses to look back over his shoulder. "A woman like that can't be easy to miss. If I come across a hot-blooded, soul-eating beauty I'll tell her Tarzan is looking for her."

Grinning, Robin sets out on his journey once more; waving as he goes. The mounted officer and his faithful stead are several yards away when he thinks to turn in the saddle and call out, "Y'know… If she's really good and steamed… then she's probably looking for a lonely place to cool off. You might try some of the neighborhood pubs."

Robin nods and waves again. "Thank you kindly." With a direction finally in mind, he moves more quickly. There are three taverns within easy walking distance. The first one that comes to mind is a dive so squalid that even Robin won't set foot in it. He doesn't need to look. He knows he won't find Regina there. The second, a friendly place known simply as Joe's, is comfortable, but unlikely to appeal to someone as refined and poised as she. Mentally homing in on her likely location. He stops walking, turns around, and heads due east for three blocks. Assuming she's there, if he hurries, maybe he can catch up with her before she orders.

He quickly checks any place along his chosen route that she might possibly have ducked into. But ultimately, his search ends precisely where he expected it to after his conversation with the local constabulary.

When he walks into the place with all its glass walls, polished mahogany and recessed lighting, as though by instinct, he spots her before the door is even fully closed behind him.

In a dark corner at the end of the bar, he watches her down the amber contents of a glass in a single swallow and then play idly with the empty glass; rolling it between her palms. The bar stool next to her is empty until some average looking, unremarkable man in a very expensive suit who believes too much in the power of his own charm walks up and sits down beside her without waiting for an invitation. As Robin moves closer, he watches the man signal for the rotund old barkeep with hair the color of cotton. When approached, he says, "Get the lady another on me."

Regina cuts her eyes sideways, barely noticing him, but taking in all she needs to know in that single flicker of a glance. She hands her empty glass to the bartender. "One more…" in a voice of deadly calm, she adds pointedly, "And I'll pay for my own."

Undaunted, the uninvited man smiles of her. "You sure, honey. I don't mind."

Regina turns giving him her full undivided attention.

Like a bored cat toying with its prey, she smiles and cocks her head to one side flirtatiously. She reaches out and places a hand lightly on the man's chest and Robin knows that the guy is in big trouble. He has no clue what's coming next. Caught up in the pretty smile and in the feel of her touch, the poor sap completely misses the icy void behind her gaze. It takes her all of two seconds to render him completely stupid. Before he even understands what's happening, one hard tug, and she's strangling him with his own neck tie.

Shock registers in his posture and he gasps; begging for air as he squirms in panic on his bar stool.

Now face to face, with their noses nearly touching, Regina hisses; her words boiled in acid "Leave; now!". She releases his necktie; shoving him backward so abruptly that he very nearly topples to the floor; catching himself only at the last possible instant.

Without so much as a word, Robin watches the unfortunate man leave the bar hurriedly; his head down like a whipped dog with its tail tucked firmly between its legs.

The bartender brings her a fresh glass and pours her another double. The watchful old guy doesn't speak a single word, but Robin can detect that telltale hint of a smile on the older man's face and the unmistakable glimmer of silent laughter in his eyes.

Without having given any indication that she was aware of Robin's presence, without so much as making eye contact, she slowly nurses her second glass before she asks in little more than a whisper, "Are you going to sit down - or just stand there and stare?"

He's not sure if it's an invitation or a challenge, but whichever it is, he decides to accept. When he does, indeed, sit down on the recently vacated bar stool, she swishes the liquid in her glass and addresses the bartender. "Get the man a drink. He's gonna need it."

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Third Degree Burns**

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 **A bar; somewhere in New York City**

For long moments they sit at the bar side by side, not talking. Each of them nursing a drink that neither of them is really interested in; each of them too lost in their own thoughts to care about the fine quality of the bourbon in their glasses.

At length, Regina releases an agitated sigh, as if holding it in any longer is too much of a burden to bear. Then, as if changing her mind, she inhales slowly, deeply; trying to pull it back in.

"So, you moved on." She bites back the rest of her words, "with her." Holding them in because she knows they aren't fair, but Robin hears them anyway, or at least he senses them.

"Regina that's not fair. You understood. You agreed."

"I know it's not fair! I'm trying not to feel the way I feel, but…" She shakes her head. "I know it's not rational, but - It's how I feel! Which is hardly the most salient point in all of this."

Robin shakes his own head. "Roland…"

Regina squints; momentarily at a loss. "Roland?"

"Yeah, I'm sitting here thinking about how bad this is. Every time I think things couldn't be worse I think of something that makes it worse. Zelena's not going to keep wearing that - I don't know, what did you call it? Glamour? Roland's not going to understand where his mother's gone. He's going to have to lose her all over again. What she's done to me - to us - Regina, that's bad enough, but she went and pulled my son into it! He's just a little boy. This isn't fair to him. Ugh!" Robin groans with frustration and loathing. He grabs the bar with both hands as if to anchor himself in place. "I just want to…" He sighs, "But I can't!"

"Fortunately for Zelena, I can't either. At least not here. I can help you with Roland, though. A forgetting potion. We'll just take him back to before the fake Marian showed up. He'll lose time, but he won't have to remember. Won't have to be confused by - well, not by her absence."

"Thank you. How am I supposed to explain the sudden appearance of a brother or sister to him? That's not going to make any sense to him."

"It won't happen suddenly. You've got nine months to figure that one out. Anyway, he's still too young to really understand about babies. That part may not be as traumatic as you think." Dejectedly, Regina swirls the liquid in the bottom of her glass. "Well, at least not for him anyway. From now on, no matter what we do there's, going to be this child. That's a lifetime she's got cooking. And, you're going to be connected to her for the rest of yours." She sets down her glass with exaggerated care, closes her eyes, and pinches the bridge of her nose as if she's trying to ward off a headache that's looming. When she opens her eyes again, they shimmer with unshed tears that she will not allow to fall. She declares quietly, as if she can't bear to hear the words spoken aloud. "You're going to be connected to my sister, for life - in a way that we never will be."

Squinting in confusion, he reaches for her hand. Sensing his intent, she jerks it away a millisecond before she feels his touch, placing it in her lap beneath the bar.

"Don't touch me! Don't be nice to me." She whispers in agony.

Two seconds later, when she realizes that he thinks she's just rejected him, that maybe she's repulsed by him, she clarifies; "I'll fall apart if you're nice to me; if you touch me. So, don't, okay? Just don't!"

He inhales deeply with relief and places his hand in his own lap as well. She's not spurning him. She's only trying to contain herself.

"Okay." He says softly. "But I don't understand. What you mean by… in a way we never will be?"

She closes her eyes again and tilts her head back, rolling her neck as if she's got a cramp. A single tear fights it this way free and slips through her lashes. "I can't…" She whispers simply.

Robin frowns. "You can't what?"

In reply, she opens her eyes, looks directly at him, and simply repeats "I can't."

"What?" he asks again the moment before her meaning takes root and comprehension dawns. "Have babies?"

In confirmation, she lifts one shoulder in a sad shrug.

Remembering whispered breathless comments that she once made moments before passion had first claimed them; his face crumples with a realization that he should have picked up on long before this moment. "God! Regina I'm sorry. When you said we didn't need to worry, I thought - well, I don't know what I thought. I didn't think you were telling me…"

"I know." She breathes a note of acceptance. "It's okay. It's hardly the thing we should be talking about right now. That's not important at this moment. Just - don't tell her, okay? She did all this just to hurt me. To her - you were just a means to an end. She succeeded. She succeeded far better than she knows. And, I don't want her to know it. If she finds out, she'll revel in it. I don't think I can take that. So please, don't tell her. Grant me that?"

He starts to reach for her again and then catches himself; remembering that she doesn't want to be touched. "Regina, of course, I won't tell her! I'm not going to tell her a bloody thing! And, if you don't want to talk about it right now, that's okay. That's fine, but don't say it's not important. Not even now with all this other - stuff! Because it is. It's important to me."

She offers him a sad smile. "I was such an idiot to think that life wouldn't kick me in the teeth again. And, I'm sorry she used you to do this. It's not fair to you. She did all this just to send my happy ending up in flames. Now, I'm sitting here feeling sorry for myself, but you're the one who's got third degree burns."

"I think we both got burned, and if by, happy ending, you mean me, at least now that's still possible."

Regina gives him a hard look of utter incredulity, but before she can speak, he holds up a hand as if to say, "Hear me out."

"I know, Regina. I know. it's – messy; but we can try. Can't we?"

For a long moment Regina doesn't say anything at all. Not a single word. She just sits with her shoulders slumped in defeat and stares into the middle distance; looking at; and seeing nothing. At length, she inhales deeply, lifts one shoulder in a shrug and shakes her head with uncertainty. "I don't know, Robin. I want to. I'm just not sure I should." She closes her eyes again, this time it's an unmistakable gesture of shame and he watches her throat as she struggles to swallow as though bile is rising. She leans closer so that her next words are for his ears only. "I wanted to kill her. I tried to. The only reason that her face isn't still on fire is because there's no magic here in this one damn place! She's - she's a damned human incubator! She's currently incubating your child - and I tried to set her on fire!"

When the next sound that escapes his mouth is one of harsh, humorless laughter; she looks at him in a way that says she's mentally questioning his sanity. "It's not funny, Robin!"

"No. No, I know it's not funny. It's just - fid you really think I wouldn't understand that impulse? She tricked me. She lied me. I thought she was my wife. She used me to hurt you. I… I… I… touched her!" He blurts out in obvious frustration and then shivers in revulsion. "Don't think for a second – not a single second that I'll hold that impulse against you Regina. Just - don't try that again, please."

She moves her lower jaw to one side; pursing her lips as if she's thinking about it. After two long beats, she offers him a compromise. "I promise I won't try that again for as long as she is still pregnant. After that baby is born - well, I'm not making any promises. And - maybe we should stick together. For one thing, it'd be a damn shame to let her permanently drive a wedge between us. We shouldn't just let her win. For another, I'd miss you, Robin and I'm tired of missing you. I don't want to do it anymore."

"I don't want to miss you anymore, either. Done that for the last two months. Haven't enjoyed it one bloody whit. He lifts his hand from his lap and holds it out for her. Sensing that perhaps it's okay now.

She smiles softly and places her hand in his.

"Right then." He drains his glass. "What do we do now?"

Still holding his hand, she slides off her bar stool, removes folded bills from the pocket of her jacket and tosses them on the bar. "We take my sister back to Storybrooke. We lock her up, and we charge her with murder and sexual assault."

Robin raises an eyebrow. "Regina, I know you mean well, sweetheart; but I doubt you'll be able to make that to stick, legally."

"The hell I can't! Consent is not legally possible if it's done under influence, or if you don't know what, or who you're consenting to. You may have been sober. And you may have known what you were doing. But you sure as hell didn't know who you were doing it with. That is assault, Robin. It's worse than assault! it's morally repugnant and I'm not going to let her get away with it!"

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Pot & the Kettle**

* * *

 **Baelfire's\Neal Cassidy's New York apartment**

 **Night time**

"Neal was a lot of things to me. Now he's just gone - thanks to her." Emma informs Lily as she steps toward Zelena with a hard, unforgiving look on her face.

To Lilly's ears, the cold and meaningless "Sorry." Zelena delivers with an offhand shrug would have been best left unsaid. In doing so, she only antagonized Emma. In addition, Lily must bite her tongue to keep from laughing aloud when Zelena unconvincingly runs some nonsense about feeling her baby kick, and how Emma wouldn't want to rattle an expectant mother.

Lilly remembers reading somewhere that, on average, most unborn children cannot be felt moving inside the womb until about 16 weeks; which is just shy of four months. She eyes Zelena's middle coolly. No way this broad is four months in, but Lilly crosses her arms and says nothing. Emma doesn't need her help to deal with this piece of work.

Before Emma can do or say anything, the door to the apartment opens and Regina walks through with Robin at her heels.

"Pack up. We're going back to Storybrooke. Tonight!" Regina declares before tossing a look in Zelena's direction. "You too. Or better yet, sit still. We'll do the packing."

Removing two items from her jacket pocket which she had retrieved from Emma's bug before re-entering the apartment, Regina steps toward her sister. Before Zelena has a chance to react, she roughly places the magical cuff on her wrist. "This cuff will keep you from using magic once we cross the Storybrooke town line. Scowl, and tug on it all you like. The one wearing it can't take it off. Regina hands Emma her own handcuffs. "Sheriff."

Stepping forward, Emma does her duty, clicking the handcuffs into place.

Zelena looks around the room and decides to act as if she's simply bored. "Really, what are the charges?" She yawns dramatically.

Regina chuckles wryly, "Oh, I think we'll start with murder and work our way down to sexual assault."

Truly surprised by this announcement, Zelena snorts laughter. "You cannot be serious! Look at him." She gestures toward Robin with her newly manacled hands. "Does he look like he's been assaulted?"

Regina ignores the question and chooses instead to raise an eyebrow in Emma's direction when she catches a curious look on the blonde's face.

"What? What's on your mind, Swan?"

Emma shakes her head dismissively.

Regina presses again, placing her hands on her hips and assuming a mildly challenging posture. "No, I know that look, Emma. Out with it. Whatever it is."

Emma shakes her head again. "I'll arrest her if you want me to. Just gotta say Regina…" Emma points to Regina first. "Pot." Next, she points to Zelena. "Kettle."

Regina relaxes her stance and folds her arms over her chest. She looks Emma straight in the eye. "There's no need to say it at all. I'm painfully aware."

Emma nods her acceptance, and declares quietly, "Just as long as you're aware…"

Zelena giggles maniacal; thinking she's on the verge of discovering some salacious dirt. "What?"

"Mind your own business, Greenie." Regina orders calmly.

Zelena laughs again, undaunted. "What did you do, Regina?"

"Quite a lot of things, but we are not here today because of me, Zelena. Today is about you."

"Oh, I get it. You going to hold me accountable for crimes you have committed, yourself. Kind of hypocritical; wouldn't you say."

Robin looks on curiously but doesn't say anything.

Regina pauses, staring hard at her sister. She considers her words carefully for a moment, and then, refusing to bow in shame, she answers honestly. "Possibly so, yes. But, I didn't stop until someone held me accountable. I didn't stop until my son…" She gestures between herself and Emma. "Until our son… demanded better. I stopped because he deserves better. And now, so does Robin's child. Only that child can't speak for itself yet."

Finally growing somber, Zelena looks at Robin in astonishment. "You're just going to let her take me back?"

Robin avoids making direct eye contact, as if doing so might make him ill. "First, I'm not leaving my child. Second, I am going with her." He nods his head indicating Regina. "And third…" He stresses his next words carefully; where emphasis is needed. "No one 'lets' Regina do anything. But just in case you're wondering, she does have my full consent. You're coming, and I don't give one whit if you don't like it."

"She'll lock me up. Do you really want your child born in some dirty jail?"

Grabbing his familiar knapsack from its spot on the floor beside the door, Robin talks as he opens it. "That's the plan." He informs her plainly before he turns to Regina. "Things are different in this world. Medicine is different. Is there some kind of test for a doctor here to find out if the child is truly mine?"

"Robin!" Zelena objects loudly, in shock, while Regina is more mildly taken aback by the unexpected question.

Ignoring her sister's indignation, she recovers quickly and answers the question in the affirmative. "Yes, there is a test that can be done before birth, but you'll want to talk to a doctor first. I know there may be risks involved, I'm just not sure exactly what they are. You may want to wait until after the baby is born and then run the test. It may be safer that way. Why? You're not saying that…"

He shakes his head and speaks softly. "No, I'm sorry, it is possibly mine, but she lied about being my wife for God's sake. She lied about everything. For all I know, she could be lying about that too."

"Robin!" Zelena growls with hostility.

He crosses the room until he is directly in front of her; nearly in her face. "You…" He points at her with aggression. "You don't get to be offended. You did this. You don't like the way I handle it… That's your bloody problem."

When Robin backs off, running his trembling fingers through his hair in agitation, Zelena moves away; once again putting on a show, acting as if this rare and sudden flash of temper doesn't bother her in the least.

She flashes a saccharine smile and hums merrily, intending her comment for Regina, but not caring if the rest of the room hears as well. "Turns out, Forest Boy's not as peace-loving and idealistic as he thought he was. Careful Sis. There's still a little bit of caveman in there. Wouldn't want him dragging his knuckles through that fine house of yours."

Robin scowls quietly while Regina turns to her sister. She opens her mouth to speak, and then snaps it shut again. It's been a long day. She decides she's too tired to bother with such purile, and obvious attempts to start a fight. "Grow up. Zelena." She breathes with a sigh of resigned boredom.

"What's the matter, Sis? Temporarily lost your talent for witty one-liners?"

Without any intention of answering, Regina moves around the room silently collecting things that she recognizes as belonging to Robin. She sets a few things on the coffee table and just as Zelena opens her mouth again; no doubt in an attempt to antagonize someone, they all hear movement in the next room.

"Daddy?" They hear Roland's young voice call out even before the door to his bedroom opens. He steps into the living room wearing camouflage print pajamas, rubbing his sleepy eyes with the back of one hand, and toting a white and gray stuffed toy monkey in the other. "Daddy, I'm thirst…" Reginaaaaaa!"

Upon seeing her, the small boy drops his toy and takes flight. He's across the small living room in less than a second, being swept up into her waiting arms.

Surprised by an increase in the boy's weight since she last tried to pick him up; she mutters, more to herself than anyone else, "Ohh… God save the queen!" thus, causing Emma to chuckle quietly, and Robin to smile broadly. "Roland, you tell me the truth. Has your daddy been feeding you rocks for the last two months?"

Roland giggles happily and shakes his head with enthusiasm. "No, silly goose! Daddy wouldn't make me eat rocks! I got bigger. That's all."

"You did?" she exclaims leaning back slightly with a smile. "Let me see." She studies him intently for a moment. "Yes!" She declares after an exaggerated beat. "I think you did get just a smidgen bigger - a little tiny ant-sized smidgen." She demonstrates with a barely discernible gap between thumb and forefinger.

Roland nods his head in affirmation. "See, I told you!"

Regina pulls him close again and noisily kisses the top of his head. "Mwah! So, how's my favorite of all the merry men?"

Roland giggles while Zelena murmurs snidely, "I'm sorry. Was that merry - or married?"

Robin scowls but says nothing, while Regina totally ignores her sister; completely focused on the boy in her arms as he inquires, "Who me?"

"Yes, you!" She laughs.

Roland squints. "I thought Daddy was your favorite."

"Meh." She wobbles her head side to side with mock indecision. "It's a close call. He's my second favorite. Doesn't matter though. He doesn't mind playing second fiddle to you."

"Sure don't. Never will either." Robin confirms as he makes his way around the room, collecting their things.

Pleased, Roland bobs his chin with excitement. "Oh good! It's okay then. I'm okay too. But I don't like it here. I wanna go home. Daddy, can we go home yet? Mama's not sick anymore."

Still uncertain how to handle this, Robin grimaces and Regina covers quickly; distracting the boy just a bit longer. "What? New York doesn't agree with you?"

The little boy shakes his head adamantly. "Uh-uh, It's loud. There's too many people. I don't know anybody here. And, if you say hello to a stranger, they look at you like you're weird."

"Haven't you had any fun at all. You've been here for a whole two months?"

Roland thinks hard for a moment; squishing up his little face with the effort. "Well… We'd did eat some New York pizza. Henry's right! It tastes real good! Mama bought a whole pie at the store. It was already baked. It had apples in it. It was alright, but not as good as your apple turnovers. And, oh yeah! I almost forgot! Our first day here - Daddy stole a horse and went for a ride in the street with all the cars!" Roland grins ear to ear. "That was kind of fun!"

"Daddy stole a horse?"

"Uh huh" Roland nods his head with enthusiasm. "A big white one. On our first day. Somebody stole Mama's purse. Daddy stole a horse and then chased him in the street with all the cars. He got her purse back."

Robin smiles. "Technically, I borrowed without asking… And then returned said horse."

Roland squints. "Daddy, you said borrowing without asking was stealing."

Robin winks at a boy. "Did I say that?"

Dismissing his father, Roland returns his attention to Regina. "Don't listen to him. He's just being silly. He knows."

Regina laughs. "Yes, he does know. Though, I would have paid money; and lots of it, to see your daddy racing through the streets of New York on a big white horse. That must've been a slight." As she talks, she makes her way to the kitchen, retrieves a small glass from a cabinet, where after only a moment's search of the unfamiliar room, she supplies the thirsty boy with the drink of water he was asking for before he noticed her arrival.

Sipping from his glass, he looks around. "Who's that lady." He points curiously.

Regina gently lowers his pointing finger and says quietly." It's not very gentlemanly to point at people. And, that lady is my sister."

He nods. "Why is she wearing handcuffs?"

"Because she's a troublemaker."

Nodding once more, Roland looks around the room again. "Daddy? Is Mama still at the store?"

Robin and Regina come together closing the distance between themselves. Robin picks the boy up from her arms. "Mama had to step out for a bit, but we're going to go back to Storybrooke…" He hesitates briefly. "And she's going to meet us there."

With no known reason not to believe his father, Roland smiles. "We're going home?"

Robin nods somberly and then assures. "Yes, we're going home."

"Down please." Roland says in a singsong voice.

Robin takes the empty water glass from his son's small hands, and lowers the boy to the floor, setting him soundly on his feet.

Roland jets across the room and picks up his stuffed toy monkey from the place where he dropped it. "Okay - I'm ready. Let's go."

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Road Trip into The Dark**

* * *

Thanks to a team effort, Emma, Regina, Lily, and Robin manage to pack the trunks of both vehicles tightly in an impressively short time period. With a belligerent and contrary Zelena stashed safely in the backseat of Emma's bug, the remaining adults and little Roland stand on the sidewalk sorting out the particulars for the road trip that lays ahead of them.

Emma opens the discussion with, "I'm okay driving Zelena. Probably best to limit her access to Roland and Robin."

Regina snorts derisively. "I agree about Roland. Robin's a big boy. He can handle himself. It's probably best to limit _my_ access to her. I might lose the will to refrain from strangling the life out of her if forced a ride back to Storybrooke crammed into that roller skate you call a car alongside her!"

Emma doesn't know whether to groan or laugh. She winds up making a noise that is somewhere between the two.

Regina passes a speculative look between Emma and Lily. Can the two of you be trusted not to kill each other on the roadside somewhere between here and there?"

Lilly volunteers. "Yes, we'll make it there. I'll drive my car and follow Emma. You, Robin, and the curtain climber can ride with me."

From his comfortable perch in his father's arms, Roland squints at the woman called Lily. He's smart enough to know she was referring to him. "I don't climb on curtains. That's dumb! I climb trees."

Lilly amends, with a shrug. "You, Robin, and the tree climber."

Regina shakes her head. "You can ride along. I'm driving." Decree made, Regina approaches the driver's side door and peers in. "Do you have the keys for this thing on you? Or, does Emma need to hotwire it again?"

"Hey, why do I have to be the one to hotwire it again." Emma grins.

"Because Swan, I don't know how to. Unlike you - I've never stolen a car." After a beat Regina clarifies, "Before today."

Regina's face lights up with silent laughter when Roland looks at her; shock evident in his young eyes. "Regina! You stole a car?"

"I was an accomplice. Which probably makes me no less guilty."

Uncertain why she suddenly feels compelled to defend the woman, Lily offers, "It was my fault, little man. I stole their car first. They were just trying to catch me." She approaches the rear of her car. She leans down and reaches under the bumper and produces one of those magnetized boxes meant for storing a spare key. "Emma didn't have to hotwire it in the first place?" She reluctantly hands over the key to Regina.

Emma shrugs, "Nobody uses those things anymore. Every car thief with ½ a brain in his head knows how to look for them."

"I lock my keys in the car so often it's worth it just to avoid the hassle. It's not like this old beater is worth a bunch of money. And, anyway, funny but…" Lily razzes her just for the fun of it. "You didn't look for it."

Regina opens the driver's side door and slides in behind the wheel before pointedly asking, "Are we going; or are you two going to stand here on the sidewalk swapping insults like asinine teenagers all night?"

Robin closes her car door for her, before he gently deposits his son in the backseat and trots around the rear of the car to the other side. Before climbing into the backseat, himself, he opens the door for Lily. "Mi'Lady." He bows slightly while gesturing toward the front passenger seat.

Lilly gives him a tense, awkward, smile and slides into the seat next to Regina's.

A few seconds tick by while doors close and drivers and passengers alike settle themselves in for the long journey into the night. Once they leave the surface streets behind, Regina turns on the car radio looking for anything worth listening to. When she doesn't find anything to suit her liking, she snaps the radio off again with the decisive flick of her wrist. Ten more minutes go by and Lily speaks up; trying to quell her own discomfort at being stuck in a car with three virtual strangers. Looking for a good icebreaker, she decides to start with their common ground.

"I've known about all this for years. But knowing about it and seeing it with my own eyes are two entirely different things."

Regina is silent for a moment, and then deciding she may as well fill the silence with something agreeable, she asks quietly, "Is there a question in there somewhere?"

"Only about a million and a half."

Regina nods receptively; her right hand on the wheel, her left temple resting lightly against the knuckles of the opposite hand as she watches the road stretch out before them. The engine of the old muscle car rumbles low over the miles. "I doubt I can answer that many but pick an easy one as your jumping off place, and we'll go from there."

Before Lily asks her first question she warns apologetically, "Sorry, the tires are a bit splashy."

"So, I noticed." Regina responds quietly as if it's of little consequence and well within her considerable control."

Lilly squints and stares at her from the passenger seat.

Flicking her gaze to the younger woman before returning her attention to the road, Regina inquires, "What?"

"Well, it's just… If you know about Storybrooke… If you're from Storybrooke… Then you're probably from the Enchanted Forest. But, you don't drive like you're used to horse drawn carriages or traveling on horseback."

Regina smiles mysteriously. There's no point in giving the girl more information than she is ready for. Deciding that it's best to let her ask the questions at her own pace, Regina begins, "Emma never did properly introduce us, did she?" Taking the wheel in her left hand, she extends her right, offering it in formal greeting. "Regina Mills; Mayor of Storybrooke. I've been here for 31 years. Driving cars is something I figured out a long time ago."

Lily turns in her seat as much as possible, restrained by her seat belt, and nods her head toward the backseat. "And, he's really Robin Hood?"

Regina nods solemnly and affirms. "Of Locksley and Sherwood Forest" while Robin says politely, with a wide easy grin, "At your service."

Lilly shakes her head. Her eyes shining for the first time all day with the wonder of it all. More to herself than to her traveling companions, she whispers in sheer amazement, "Robin Hood has a kid!"

Regina chuckles lightly. "The part that never ceases to amaze me is the fact that the rest of the world thinks that people like Robin and I only exist in the pages of a storybook."

"And that nut job in the backseat of Emma's car… She is related to you?

"That nut job is my sister. Well, my half-sister."

"Okay, but who is she? Uh, I mean storybook-wise."

"The Wicked Witch of the West." Regina states matter-of-factly.

Lily's eyes widen noticeably. "From Oz?" Before anyone can respond, Lily questions, "No sh…" She glances into the rearview mirror; looking at the reflection of the little boy who is once again near to sleep; nestled against his father's shoulder. "Sorry, seriously? No kidding? The wicked witch? Holy hot sauce! At least now I understand why you called her Greenie. She wasn't really green, was she?"

"Green with envy - literally." Regina affirms.

"Well that sounds - unpleasant. What or who is she so jealous of?"

"Apparently me, although we've only just recently met. I didn't know she existed for the first 30 years of her life. She thinks I had everything she didn't. Thinks I stole her birthright."

"Did you?"

"I didn't steal anything from Zelena. I certainly didn't steal her birthright. Our mother abandoned her birthright. Along with her. Her hatred toward me is - misappropriated. As is often the case when it comes to hatred."

Lilly nods with newfound understanding. "Hence, she steals your guy, and either conveniently, or intentionally, gets pregnant? Whoa! She really hates you. She doesn't just want you dead. Dead is too easy. She wants you decimated."

"Not exactly news. She's told me that herself." Regina declares dryly.

"And Emma? She's the savior? The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming?"

"The product of true love." Regina assures drolly.

Lilly takes a moment to think about different things she heard earlier in the day "And - her son is your son." Lily squints. "How does that work?"

"Delicately. She gave birth to him. I adopted him and raised him as a single mother for the first 10 years of his life before he went looking for Emma. She's been a part of his life for three years."

A dark cloud of slowly roiling anger suddenly envelops Lily's face. "What is it with you people, and abandoning babies!"

Because she's only minimally surprised by the sudden change of mood, Regina declares in a deliberately calm, even voice. "There are no abandoned babies in this car." Pointing her thumb over her shoulder, she continues. "And, there is only one abandoned baby in the car behind us." Regina flicks her gaze to the woman in the passenger seat, taking in the firm set of her jaw, the anger, and most of all she sees through the anger, down to the pain. "There's a difference, Lily, between abandoning a baby, and letting one go in order to give it its best chance. Snow and Charming; they did that for Emma, and she did the same for Henry. In both cases, doing it, broke their hearts. My mother is guilty of abandoning her firstborn. Put her in a basket and left her to fate. She did it – selfishly - because keeping my sister would have kept her from her best chance. That's abandonment. And for whatever it's worth, your mother didn't do that to you either. She wanted you. You were not abandoned. You were stolen."

"What the hell do you know about it?" Lilly crosses her arms over her chest; her posture becoming rigid in the passenger seat.

Before answering, Regina glances into the rearview mirror and sees that, as she hopes, Roland is sound asleep. She warns quietly. "First, lower your voice, and second, adjust your language."

Lilly scoffs belligerently and challenges. "Or what?"

"Or I will put you out on the side of the road. If you wake that sleeping boy with your vulgarity and your hostility I will personally see to it that you walk all the way to Storybrooke; even if it means I have to get out and walk all the way back with you. Lily, be dark, be angry, be mad at the whole hate-filled, unfair world if you like…" Regina concludes in a hard, ominous whisper, "But you will… adjust your tone."

Lilly doesn't speak again right away, and she continues to scowl, but Robin is certain that he sees the telltale hint of a shiver dance its way across her shoulders; a shiver he knows had absolutely nothing to do with the temperature of the air inside the vehicle.

Regina waits several minutes, letting Lily seethe in silence before she adds, "And, I know about it, because your mother and I were once friends, or something close to friends, and we're working our way back to it again."

Lilly doesn't say anything for better than 20 minutes; when she finally does she asks, "What did you mean 'something close' to friends?"

Regina shrugs one shoulder and breathes deeply. "We were as close to being friends as two evil witches can be."

Lily glances her way and snorts with laughter. Only, the sound dies a sudden death when she realizes, by the look on the driver's face, that she is neither kidding nor speaking metaphorically. "Oh, you're serious."

Regina simply nods.

"Sooo…" Lily starts slowly; drawing the word out and letting it hang heavily in the air.

Regina silently muses. "Here we go. Things are about to get interesting."

"Your sister's the Wicked Witch of the West… Does that make you one from the east?

Chuckling wryly, Regina chirps, "Nope!"

"Well, you can't be from the north or the south. They were good witches; unless, of course, Frank L. Baum had a wrong. You just said you were evil, but I think I'd have known that even if you hadn't said it. Emma's pot-kettle comment kind of proved that too, not to mention the fact that you didn't disagree with her. You're too edgy. Too…"

"The word you're looking for - is dark." Regina supplies candidly.

Lily nods. "And no offense, but you've got this air of entitlement. You wouldn't even let me drive my own car. You have to be the one in charge. So, I'm guessing - spoiled princess - or something close to it. Especially if you knew my mother. I don't know which one though. How many fairy tale princesses are there, anyway?"

Regina's laughter is rich, and bold with just a hint of that old darkness that Robin is certain he catches glimpses of from time to time. "You're not exactly wrong. You're just off the mark. I am royalty. But a sense of entitlement is not why I wouldn't allow you to drive your own car. You've already proven yourself to be a loose cannon. There are two people I love in the backseat, and I don't trust you, that's why I have to be in control. As for the rest of it, I haven't been a princess, spoiled or otherwise, for a number of years, and queens like Malificent do not hang out with pretty little pampered princesses. Guess a little higher up the food chain."

"Okay. Not a princess. The only thing higher up the food chain would be a queen. An evil queen? Lily squints and then raises an eyebrow as if asking a question before the truth finally begins to dawn on her. Speaking slowly, spacing her words out as her eyes go wide, she corrects herself. Not an… evil queen… The… evil queen!" She jerks sideways, pressing herself up against the passenger door, trying to put as much space between herself and Regina as possible.

"Ahem, that would be the once and former evil queen" Robin corrects patiently from the backseat while Regina chuckles quietly. "Relax Lilith. If I wanted to hurt you, it would already be done."

Because her words do absolutely nothing to comfort Lily, she shoots Robin a harsh look. "Just exactly which part of that am I supposed to believe is former? The 'evil' part or the 'queen' part? Has she been de-throned, because to the best of my knowledge, the other one can't be 'former.'

Robin grins amiably. "Turns out… It can be. Leaving darkness behind just takes a lot of hard work. I'm guessing that's probably why most evil people don't do it. It's an uphill battle; every day. Sometimes several times a day. But nobody's worked harder at it than Regina has."

"I don't get it. My life is cloaked in darkness. I can't seem to get rid of it no matter what I do." She looks at Regina as if she's asking a question.

"Truth? I haven't figured out how to get rid of it. Not entirely. It's still in me. Robin is right, I battle with it every single day. What I have figured out, though, is how to weaken it. You have to do something you really don't want to do. You have to stop feeding it. Maybe one day I'll starve it to death. See, if you feed on darkness, you become its host. It feeds on you. You get weaker; it gets stronger - until it swallows you. Once it does that… Well, let's just say it's a lot harder to kick it out after its already taken up residence than it is to keep it out in the first place."

"That's why you wouldn't let Emma kill me today. I couldn't figure out why you would do that for me. You don't know me, but you didn't do it for me. Did you? You did it for her. What you said to her about the road back - it makes a lot more sense now. But it's different with me. I didn't just stumble into this. I was born this way."

Regina shakes her head and orders quietly. "First, stop feeling sorry for yourself! And, second, don't use 'I was born this way' to give yourself permission for bad behavior, because that's not true Lily. It's a cop out! No one is born bad. No one is born good. Babies are blank slates with the potential for both light and dark. Babies are symphonies that have yet to be composed. Whether they are light or dark depends on which notes they are exposed to. Evil is made; not born! And anyway, I don't think you are evil, Lily. Dark and angry, yes. Evil, no. At least not yet anyway."

"You said it yourself." She argues. "I was stolen; stolen so Emma's parents could put her darkness into me! Like I didn't have enough of my own. And, they're called heroes! Who does that to a baby? They're ogres!"

They're not ogres. I've seen ogres; they are foul-smelling ugly creatures without any capacity for remorse. That's not what Emma's parents are. I know you can't hear this right now. But they are good people. Even good people are capable of horrible things, dark things, especially when they're afraid for their child."

Lilly laughs bitterly. "I can't believe I'm hearing you, of all people, defend Snow White. Didn't you try to kill her?"

"Several times, yes, and I'm not so much defending, as explaining. What she did was horrible. There is no justification. I just know why she did it."

"So, what? You tried several times to kill her. She tried to kill you. And now you two are BFF's?"

Regina throws back her head and laughs. "I doubt that I will ever have a BFF. No matter how good I get. Most people just don't want to get that close to the woman who used to be known as the evil queen."

Lilly jerks her thumb in the direction of the backseat. "He does! He likes being close to you; very close!"

Regina's laughter continues until she hears Roland murmur in his sleep, and then she does what she can to stifle it until it dies down. "Lily, what he and I want from each other falls under the heading of 'none of your business.' As for Mary Margaret and myself… She would call us friends. I'm not particularly comfortable with the term; probably because I haven't had many. She and I, we're like retired soldiers. We are war-torn and battled-bruised. The war got to be too expensive, so we put it aside. In nearly cost me my son. No blood feud is worth that, and it never will be. I think we've been in each other's lives for so long that we don't know how not to be. Even if we didn't have to be, we would be. The relationship has undergone a major shift, because it had to. We're family now. She's my son's grandmother."

Lilly squints. "Mary Margaret?"

"Yes. That's Snow's Storybrooke identity."

"I don't understand. Haven't you been family for years?"

"Only because of an unwanted marriage. Now it's finally - real."

"But, you don't know what it's like to grow up thinking that your own mother doesn't want you."

"No. You're right. I don't. I do know what it's like to grow up thinking that your mother only wants you for what you can provide. Can you understand, or even imagine, what it's like to grow up knowing with absolute certainty that the only reason you exist is just to further your mother's quest for power; that even if she does love you in some small way, you'll never feel it because she will never allow herself to show it. Love is a weakness. At least in her mind anyway."

"Okay. So, we're both screwed up; warped."

"Yes, we are. From one screwed up, warped, person to another; I don't want to see anything bad happen to you Lily. I know you've got plans for Emma's parents. I hope you'll rethink them, because I will not let you hurt Emma. That also means not letting you hurt her parents. I don't want to. But if you force me to, I will stop you. Remember, it wasn't you I was trying to save from her bullet."

* * *

 **Chapter 6: It's Witchcraft**

* * *

The night passes slowly with infrequent rest stops for snacks, coffee, and other necessities. Regina's three passengers sleep restlessly and at odd intervals; waking often if the vehicle stops moving or if there is a change in speed or direction. At one point, Roland wakes for a few hours and grows bored with the journey. Chatting quietly is difficult for the little guy so, except for the occasional whispered comment, he entertains himself by watching and naming the passing traffic.

Regina can't help but smile as she listens to his young hushed voice, barely audible over the constant growl of the old car's engine and the incessant road noise, "Car, car, truck, car, truck, car, car, Mercedes!" He declares suddenly with renewed enthusiasm, and she can literally hear the smile on the small boy's face.

When she glances at the passing vehicle and realizes that he is correct; she chuckles quietly. "Roland," she whispers, "How do you know that is a Mercedes?"

"Cause, Regina, you got one. I got to ride in it once. I remember. This car is noisier."

Without taking her eyes away from the road, she reaches into the backseat and musses his hair affectionately. "This car wasn't built for comfort, or with any kind of elegance in mind."

"What was it build for?"

Neither of them is aware that Lily is awake and listening until she mutters quietly, "For aggressive speed, and showing off."

Eventually, the boy sleeps again. When they all sleep, Regina is left alone with her thoughts. Thoughts of her sister, Robin, and the baby, and exactly how they're all going to cope with the fallout from this mess Zelena has created.

As they enter the woodland area of Maine and draw near the Storybrooke town line Regina pulls onto the soft shoulder of the road and allows Emma to pass and go first; Emma has the Snow Queen's scroll with her in the yellow VW Bug. When Regina pulls to a complete stop, her sleeping adult passengers in both the front and the back seats begin to stir. Correcting her slumped posture, Lily sits up and inhales deeply. "What, what's going on?" The brunette looks around; groggy and not fully out of the depths of sleep. She takes in the sight of majestic pines on both sides of the narrow two-lane road "Why are we stopped in the middle of nowhere? Don't tell me we have a flat." She yawns and covers her mouth with the back of her hand.

Adjusting the visor over the steering wheel to shield her eyes from the early morning sunlight, Regina shakes her head and then wobbles it side to side, trying to relieve the stiffness in her neck, as Robin voices her answer for her. Stretching, he places one hand over the back of the front seat and affectionately squeezes Regina's shoulder in an unspoken early morning greeting.

Silently responding, Regina reaches for, and caresses his hand as he says to Lily "No, we're there."

Lilly squints and then rubs her eyes. "There? There where? I don't see any town. All I see is Emma's car, on a lonely road in the middle of a forest."

"The town is cloaked." Regina explains; talking around a yawn she can't quite stifle.

"Cloaked? What? You mean cloaked as in invisible?"

Regina nods. "Just watch." She says, her voice thinly laced with fatigue.

A mere second later Emma's moving bug inexplicably vanishes from sight and Lily's body jerks slightly in response to the shock.

"Wait here. We can't get in without the scroll." Grateful for a chance to stretch her legs, Regina steps out of the car and begins walking to the place where the yellow car disappeared from sight. As she approaches the town line, Lily sits up even straighter when she sees part of her old friend's right arm and one high heeled boot suddenly re-materialize as if disembodied. "Good, God!" Lily whispers. "That's just - bizarre!"

"She's just keeping an eye on Zelena. Probably doesn't want to turn her back even for a second." Robin guesses. "So, she's only got one foot over the line."

Frazzled and awe-struck, Lily watches mutely as Regina retrieves the scroll from Emma's clenched hand that is attached to an arm that seems to free-float in vacant space, before she walks back to the waiting car without so much as a word to Emma.

Back in the car, with the scroll on the dashboard, Regina coasts over the town line and rolls down her window.

Lily stares dumbfounded as the town of Storybrooke magically materializes; suddenly there, where it had not been a mere second before. Jerking her head around, she stares, mouth open, at the vacant road visible through the car's rear window. for a time, she has no choice but to tune out everything except what her eyes can see. long seconds later, when her other senses resume their normal function, she hears Regina asking Emma, "Granny's? I need coffee - in the worst way."

"Ditto; extra-large and some sticky buns or maybe some chocolate chip pancakes."

Reading the grimace on Regina's face, Emma chuckles. "I know, I know, I eat like a kid."

Only minutes later, as they pull to a stop on Main Street outside Granny's diner, townspeople come out from the diner and other nearby buildings to greet them.

Emma hugs Henry and then passes him off to Regina so that she can kiss Hook and awkwardly avoid her parents. Next, while Emma introduces Malificent to Lily, Regina keeps one eye on Zelena as she talks to Robin.

I'm going to order breakfast, then I'll take her to the hospital prison ward."

Standing on the sidewalk next to her, Robin nods in response to her words while he waves in silent greeting to Little John who is among the gathering. "Alright, what time should we meet at your place to do the potion?" he shifts his sleeping son from one shoulder to the other and Regina pats the boy's back affectionately when Roland murmurs without waking from sleep.

She shakes her head and whispers so as not to disturb the four-year-old further. "I don't want to wait. I'd like to have it ready when he wakes up, or at least as close to ready as I can get it by then. No point letting her absence confuse him any longer than it absolutely has too. We can't do it at my house. I don't keep magic there. Too dangerous. If you can stay awake for another hour or so, then meet me at my vault."

Eager to have it over and done with for the very reason she mentioned, Robin nods agreeably but looks into her tired eyes with concern. "I can manage, but I slept at least a bit. You didn't. Are you okay to do this now? I don't like lying to my boy, it feels bad, but I can stall him a little longer if you need to sleep."

She smiles, grateful for his consideration. Tempted to accept the offer, she gives it a moment's thought before she rejects the idea. "No. All I need is an espresso and some protein. I can do it. If I go down now, I may not rise again until the witching hour." She bumps her hip against his flirtatiously and then heads for the door as Robin heads for the woods. Before entering the diner, Regina catches David's eye and nods her head in the direction of the passenger in the yellow car. "Watch her."

Understanding, Storybrooke's charming sheriff asks simply, "Jail cell?" as he trots over and holds the diner's door open for Regina.

She shakes her head before pausing to call out once more for Robin's attention. When he turns, flashing his wide easy smile for her benefit she says, "Don't go in. Just wait for me outside, okay?" When Robin squints in confusion she says, "Don't touch the vault door." Still perplexed, Robin shrugs but gives her the thumbs up sign; indicating at least that he understands her request; if not the reason for it. Turning her attention back to David, Regina says in a hushed voice, "She's going to need prenatal care. Hospital prison ward is better equipped."

David's eyes go wide. "Did you say - prenatal?"

Regina nods solemnly. "I did."

In response, David lets out a low whistle, and says sincerely, "Regina, I'm sorry."

Before heading for the diner's counter, Regina offers him a tired and brittle smile. David's forgiveness has been slow in coming, but she can see that the sentiment he offers is genuine. Grateful for that, she breathes quietly, "So am I David - and thanks."

Inside, she waits in line to order breakfast to-go for herself, Robin, and Roland. Once she places the order, she finds a stool and waits. A short while later, when her order is delivered, she heads for the door.

Outside, before she is more than half a dozen steps away, Malificent opens the diner door and calls after her. "Regina, wait." The blonde trots after her. "Thank you."

Regina shakes her head with uncertainty. "For what?"

"Lily told me what happened… With Emma I mean. She told me what you did."

She nods. "You're welcome… But honestly, you might want to hold off thanking me. If she intends to go through with her plans to murder Snow and Charming… Mal, I will stop her. "

"No; I know. She told me about that too. I don't think she knows what to make of all this just yet. I'll try to change her mind. I'm already trying. I don't know if she will listen to me though. Why should she; I've been absent her entire life."

Regina smiles patiently and nods her understanding. "Well, you aren't going to make any headway by standing here talking to me. Go be with your daughter."

"Thanks again." she says with feeling. She squeezes Regina's hand before turning and trotting back into the building.

Hook and Emma are sitting with Henry at one of the diner's outdoor patio tables. Regina pauses long enough to acknowledge them. "Swan; Hook." She says in abbreviated greeting, before hugging Henry one more time. "Don't be late for school this morning."

"I won't Mom; promise."

"Okay. I've got to take Zelena over to the hospital. Then I'm stopping by my vault for a while. Robin and I need to do something for Roland. After that, I'll be home sleeping. So, if you come in, when you do, please be quiet. I haven't slept in over 24 hours. I have my cell phone if you need me for anything."

"Got It. No worries. I'm probably gonna go to grandma and grandpa's after school - if that's okay."

"Sure, as long as they don't have other plans, and make sure you do your homework."

"Check." Henry smiles. "No, on noisy entrances. Yes, on homework."

She runs her fingers through her son's dark hair with affection and then waves goodbye to the three of them as David leans over from the driver's seat of his police cruiser in the parking lot and opens the front passenger door for her. "If you're ready, hop in. She's good to go. David nods his head toward Zelena in the backseat. Zelena gives her sister a nasty look, which Regina deliberately ignores and, negotiating her packages carefully, she slides into the passenger seat and slams the door; more than eager to have this over with.

Once in the hospital basement, the three of them pass Nurse Rachid's sign in desk; Regina, David, and the barely cooperative Zelena. Once Zelena is in her cell, David looks on quietly with no interference as he watches the exchange between the two siblings.

"Oh look, home." Regina says with dark merriment.

"Dank." Zelena views her cell as if she smells something sour.

"Isn't it. I'm glad I thought of it." Regina gives her a saccharine smile. "And right upstairs, our O.B, Dr. Weil, gives the finest care this side of the fictional Alps. It's the perfect temporary home." Regina starts to close the door, but Zelena's words stop her.

"Yes, this home is temporary, but me being in your life is not Regina - because this -" Zelena inhales deeply and rubs her abdomen in a way that is somehow obscene as she smiles and whispers with antagonism. "This is forever.".

Regina meets her antagonism with an ominous scowl. "Okay Zelena, you want to start talking truth? Tell me. Why are you so confident? Tell me, what's gonna make you feel safe at night - once that baby is born?"

"The fact that if you kill me Robin will always know that you murdered the mother of his child."

Regina smiles venomously. "You underestimate me, Zelena. More importantly, you've overestimated yourself. Mothers seek to do what is best for their children. The only thing you've sought here is to satisfy your own retaliatory, self-serving desires. You've actively chosen to be no better than the woman who tossed you into a basket and abandoned you to the wolves. You're not a mother. You're just a human incubator."

Zelena's wicked smile crumples in on itself as Regina slams the door and magically seals it shut before she even has the chance to reply.

Out in the hallway, David inhales deeply and shakes his head. "And, I thought you were a piece of work. You want a lift to wherever it is you're going next?"

Regina cuts her eyes sideways, giving him a slightly hostile look. "I'm going to choose to take that as a poorly delivered compliment, shepherd. And no thank you. I've had enough of cars for one day. I'll just get my breakfast out of yours and be on my way."

After retrieving her breakfast, despite her fatigue, she sips her espresso and sets out on foot with a tired smile on her face. At the end of the sidewalk she decides to, in the interest of keeping breakfast even marginally warm, magically transport herself to the wooded area surrounding her vault. Arriving in her customary cloud of royal purple smoke, she finds a mildly startled Robin sitting under a tree just a stone's throw from her destination. As she approaches, he stands and picks up his sleeping son once more. When she's close enough, he bows slightly and drops a light kiss on her cheek. Grinning, he teases, "If you're too tired to walk from town we really can do this later."

Offering a smile of her own, she takes hold of his chin and kisses his mouth. "The walk would have been good for me, but I was trying to keep your breakfast as warm as possible. It's nearly cold out here."

He nods. "So, why aren't I supposed to touch the door?" He lifts his chin in the direction of the mausoleum vault."

Chuckling softly, she juggles diner packages as she leans down and picks up a stone from the ground. "Do you really have to ask?" She gives the stone a hard, underhanded toss and when it clatters against the vault door it sets off a small but effective magical explosion. "After Zelena came to town, I decided that the traditional blood lock was not going to work. What I need is an anti-blood lock." She smiles and lifts one shoulder in a shrug. "But, to the best of my knowledge, no such thing exists."

As he chuckles, Robin also raises one eyebrow in mild alarm. "So, you've decided to blow trespassers up instead?"

"What? Over the top?" She asks playfully as she waves her left hand, magically disarming her fiery security system.

"Oh, I'd say just a tad, darling. What about a good old-fashioned padlock? He inquires as she opens the door for him and allows him to precede her into the mausoleum.

Setting her packages down on the ground temporarily, she sets her shoulders, and pushes her father's casket out of the way to reveal the secret passage hidden beneath it in the floor. As she does so, she groans in frustration, complaining; "Oh please, that won't keep Zelena out of here anymore than it would keep you out!"

"First, you should have let me do that."

When she motions as she retrieves their breakfast, he precedes her down the stairs; walking backwards while he flashes his wide easy smile and chuckles. "And second, why do you need to keep me out? What have you got down here anyway?"

She smiles mysteriously. "I managed it on my own. Besides, your hands are already full." She says referring to Roland. And I've already told you what I've got down here - magic. And, some of it's dangerous."

In the cavern below the room where her loved one's bodies lay in eternal rest, he gently places his son beneath the luxurious blankets and sheets of the king size bed; tucking the boy in snugly before he helps himself to one of the diner packages that she's already abandoned; preferring instead to set up for the task at hand before feeding herself. As he removes disposable containers of food from the bag, a thought suddenly occurs to him for the first time and he pauses momentarily and squints thoughtfully in his son's direction.

"Why exactly is there a bed down here?" He inquires in a hushed voice.

At a table; setting up beakers, a pot that looks very much like a miniature cauldron, plastic tubing, and other items he has no hope of identifying without asking a whole lot of questions, Regina pauses long enough to try to stifle the laughter that bubbles up from her throat. "Really? You're just now asking me that question? It didn't occur to you to ask that night two and a half months ago when we were down here..." She drops her voice to a seductive whisper. "Setting the sheets on fire?"

Knowing which meal she intended for herself, he picks up a container that holds an egg white omelet with peppers, whole wheat toast, and some lean sausage along with plastic utensils, napkin, and a small cup of melon slices; and carries them over to her. Stepping in close and dropping his own voice even lower; he breathes. "Regina, the last time I was down here, I did notice, but let's just say I had other - more important things on my mind. I was too busy to care about precisely why that very big, very comfortable, bed is down here. I was just glad it is."

Smiling; she offers him a light tease of a kiss. "It's here because after the first curse broke - let's just say people were a little upset me. I was concerned that I might need a place to hide out for a while - maybe indefinitely."

He nods in understanding. That explains all the bottled water and organic trail mix in the corner over there too." He gestures with his hands as he whispers quietly against her ear.

Placing ingredients in her cauldron, her busy hands suddenly go still, and she lays them flat on the table before her as if anchoring herself to something tangible will help her stay focused. As he watches, she bows her head slightly and closes her eyes; temporarily getting lost in a memory. It doesn't last long though, but after an obvious, pleasure-filled, moment she tucks her memories away, gives her head a small shake and stands up straight; clearing her throat.

"I'm glad the bed was here too." She offers honestly. "But don't stand that close while I'm working. I can't concentrate with your breath on my neck." She fidgets slightly and offers him a sweet smile. "I know you don't want me to get something wrong, mess something up, and accidentally poison your son."

He sets the food containers down on the table; well to the side of her workstation. "No, we can't have that. I will back off and let you focus; if you promise to sit down and eat. The rest of us stopped for snacks last night more than once. You didn't have anything."

"Convenience store cuisine doesn't really appeal to me. I just want this potion to start boiling." She summons up a small flame in the palm of her hand and blows gently, almost like blowing out a candle, thus pushing the flame to ignite the heating element at the base of her cauldron. It needs a good rolling boil for at least 15 minutes. Let me get that going, and I promise I will join you for breakfast." She picks up a small vial of some clear pink liquid; suctioning up a single drop into a medicine dropper. Holding it poised over the top of her brew, she backs away from the table slightly and cautions, "Now would be a good time to take two big steps backward."

Half curious, and half concerned about the note of warning in her voice, Robin does as he's told. The single drop of pink liquid slides free of the dropper and splashes ever so gently into the pot the instant before a rosy hued, and sweet smelling, cloud of vapor materializes as part of a tiny explosion.

Noticing the slight smile that barely graces the corners of her mouth, he questions, "I take it that was supposed to happen?"

Putting the cap back on the vial and setting it aside, she rubs her hands together; an obvious indication of satisfaction. "It was." She affirms quietly. "And, it's the right color too. At least for now."

"For now?"

"Umm hmm. It'll turn lime green in a few minutes and then, eventually, it will go a clear milky color."

He chuckles; realizing that she's enjoying herself. "Do you have a… recipe book… for this sort of thing?"

"I've got a spell book." She gestures idly to an unknown place behind herself as she watches the concoction brew. "Somewhere over there - but I don't need it for this. Done this a few times already. It's all up here." She points to her temple. "Forgetting potions are a delicate business, but they are not terribly difficult to recall."

A few minutes later, when her potion begins to bubble vigorously, as promised, she picks up her food and joins him at the other end of the table.

Even though her breakfast is cold, she finds herself content to eat it in his company. After several minutes of their eating in silence, she puts down her fork and idly voices her own thoughts. "We'll get through somehow. No matter how this mess all turns out." When she realizes that she's spoken out loud, and that he's looking at her with a raised eyebrow, she breathes deeply. "I'm so sorry, Robin. This is my fault."

Perplexed, he sets his food aside and reaches for her hand. "Do you want to tell me how any of this is your fault; because I'm pretty sure it's not."

"I should have taken Zelena more seriously. When she threatened me the first time. I should've pushed you as far away from myself as possible. I didn't want to though. I wanted you with me. I was selfish - and arrogant - to think that I could handle her all on my own. The worst part is, this isn't the first time I've made this mistake. I did it with Daniel as well. I knew my mother wouldn't approve. I knew she was unconscionable, even ruthless, but I didn't care. Not enough. Not enough to stop it. I just wanted to be with him. I got him killed… And then I blamed it all on a 10-year-old child who just didn't know any better. She thought all mothers were like hers; kind, decent, and wanted their daughters to be happy. That's when I made the worst mistake. I compounded it all when I stopped fighting. As a child, I never wanted to hurt anybody. I fought her for years. All her attempts to make me into someone cold, hard, and dark; like her. Robin, I loved her. I wanted to make her proud of me. I wanted her to love me, but I didn't want to be like her." Regina twists a paper napkin roughly in her hands until it tears and then, angry with herself because she can't stop the tears from coming, she tosses it across the room and watches it float to the floor in self-disgust.

"Hey." Robin pushes his chair back from the table and pulls her into his lap.

At first, she pushes against his chest; trying hard to resist the comfort he's offering. Trying to maintain some small shred of strength and poise, but in seconds, with little effort on his part, she gives in and wraps her arms around him; folding herself into the contours of his body.

"I fought physically, mentally, and emotionally; even when she used her magic against me. But, after she killed Daniel, there just wasn't any reason to fight anymore. I gave up. I gave up and everything just went black."

He rubs her back. "No, you didn't. You didn't give up. If you had, you wouldn't be here now. You just gave in for some pretty long years."

Not one for this sort of surrender, she declares quietly; her tears already starting to subside "Just? Robin!" She pushes back so she can look at him. "People died because I 'just' gave in - lots of people. Now that I can finally see something beyond all the darkness. Now, here comes Zelena trying to pull me back under. She's trying to suck me back in. I don't want to go back in. But I do want to just…" Regina balls her hands into fists and groans furiously.

"Kill her?"

Regina nods emphatically. "Yes. Yes. Yes definitely! She hisses and actually smiles before scowling miserably. "But I can't! That would be the thing that does suck me back in. Then she'll win because even if she is dead, at least she will have gotten what she wanted; her revenge. This just - ugh!"

Robin winks at her and wagers a guess. "Sucks?"

In frustration, Regina lightly smacks his shoulder. "Yes! It sucks royally! She hates me. She doesn't understand, Robin. Had I known about her, she could've had it all. You want to be firstborn? You want to be the center of mother's attention? You want to learn magic, be the queen, be our mother's personal living, breathing stepping stone to greatness. Fine! Go ahead! Just leave me alone. Leave me in peace to play chess with Daddy, ride my horse, and flirt with the palace stable boy."

Robin throws back his head and laughs boldly as Regina tries without much success to cover his mouth. "Shush!" She pinches his arm. "You're going to wake Roland!"

While he tries to quell his laughter, Regina hops up from his lap quickly. "Speaking of…" She hurries to the other end of the table to check on her potion.

"You do realize that if any of that had actually happened, we probably wouldn't be sitting here now - at least not together."

Regina squints while thinking this over for just a second and then waves his comment aside. "I've spent my life believing in magic, even if I didn't always like it. It all comes down to whether or not I believe that stupid fairy."

"Tinker Bell?"

"Yeah; that's the one! That's the stupid fairy I'm talking about."

He watches her use a turkey baster to collect obviously carefully selected amounts of milky white fluid and transfer it to a glass beaker before she continues speaking.

"I may insult her intelligence, but I do actually believe her. So, we would've gotten here; somehow. Although, maybe not to do this." She swirls the liquid in the beaker. "It has to cool."

She returns to her seat; settling herself in his lap once more and resting her head on his shoulder. "Don't move. Be still." She protests when he tries to turn his head awkwardly to get a better look at her face. "God, I am so tired."

"Hang on just a little bit longer. Roland and I will get out of your hair; leave you in peace so you can sleep Mi'lady. I'd stay, but he's not going to sleep much longer. You won't get any sleep with him around."

She shakes her head against his shoulder. "You can't stay. At least, not until that stuff" She points to the potion. "takes effect. It might take a while, and until it does, I don't want to confuse him. He may not be old enough to understand adult relationships, but he is old enough to pick up on things he doesn't understand. He knows you left here to take his mother to New York." She lowers her voice to a whisper. "Until he doesn't remember that, seeing the two of us together - it might confuse him. I don't want to make things harder for him. Not even if it's just for a little while."

"It doesn't work immediately?"

She shrugs. "The thing about memory spells and potions is that they work best when you can control the specific amount of time you want forgotten. Short time periods are best because they require that less be forgotten. It'll work, I've just never used a potion for this length the time on someone as young as Roland. Given his age, if you've taught him to do anything new, if he's picked up any new skills in the last couple of months, you may have to revisit those lessons. They will be there, but they may be a bit fuzzy. Children respond differently to this type of potion than adults. I've taken all that into consideration, of course, done my best to plan. He'll be okay. Just be patient with him. It's still better than the alternative. It may work quickly; it may take some time. Something will happen, I can't say what, but something will happen, and you'll know that it worked; some missing piece of information that should be there; but isn't."

Robin nods. "Okay, how are we going to get him to take the stuff? I assume he's not supposed to know he's doing it."

She gets up again and twists the cap off a bottle of chocolate milk. "Very few people take memory potion by choice. There have been a few; but not many." She carefully pours half of the bottle's contents into a glass, adds a carefully measured amount of potion to the glass, and then pours in the rest of the milk before swirling it gently with a spoon. She sets it aside; ready and waiting for Roland to wake up thirsty. Next, she sets about bottling the excess potion and cleaning up after herself while Robin cleans up after their meal.

Within a short time, cleanup is done, and a bright-eyed little boy sits up in bed and looks around with equal parts confusion and wonder. "Hey! What is this place?" He rubs his sleep tousled head, kicks off the blankets, and crawls off the end of the bed, dragging his stuffed toy monkey along with him and making his way closer to the two adults in the large cavernous room.

Reaching out from his chair, Robin picks the boy up and places him carefully on one knee. "Good morning to you too, young sir."

"Mornin' Daddy" Roland declares instantly reaching for the leftover takeout cup containing his share of melon. While Robin moves it closer to him to avoid a spilling accident, Roland repeats, "What is this place?"

Regina smiles. "This is my vault; the place where I keep all my magic."

"Really?" He asks around a mouthful of honeydew melon.

Chuckling, she wipes dribbling juice off his chin with a paper napkin. "Yes really." she says with enthusiasm to match his own. "But don't talk with your mouth full, okay?"

Roland dutifully clamps his mouth closed and nods his head vigorously. Between bites, he asks "Why are we here."

"We're here so I could make a little magic. A friend of mine needs a little help. I said I would, so…"

"Aww Regina, you let me sleep while you were making magic? No fair! I missed it!"

Mildly reprimanded by the small boy's complaint, she promises. "If it's okay with your daddy, the next time I make a potion, if you promise to listen very carefully, and not touch anything unless I say it's okay, I'll let you watch, but I mean it, you have to be on your best behavior. You can't goof around and be silly with magic. Somebody could get hurt."

The boy, still in his camouflage print pajamas, nods solemnly while looking to his father with wide eager eyes. "I promise."

Robin teases "Well, I guess it's okay. As long as you don't cook up anything that's going to blow up."

Roland nudges his father. "Daddy, don't be silly. Regina won't blow me up! She did save me from that ugly monkey; remember?"

"Yes, I remember that very well." He hands the boy the glass of chocolate milk.

Roland drinks down half the glass in a single swallow happily. Before pointing across the room. "Regina, what is that thing? Is that magic?"

Regina turns, looking to where the boy is pointing and walks across the room, touching an item on an inlaid shelf. "What? This?"

When Roland nods enthusiastically, she chuckles. "No. This isn't magic. This is a CD player. When Roland squints, she explains further. "It makes music." When Roland continues to gaze at her with confusion, she presses the play button on the front of the device and in very short order Frank Sinatra begins to croon one of his well-known light and jazzy hits.

"Those fingers in my hair. That sly come-hither stare that strips my conscience bare… It's witchcraft!" and young Roland stares at the CD player completely mesmerized by what he hears.

* * *

 **Chapter 7: A Walk in The Moonlight**

* * *

Despite her earlier comment made to Robin, Regina is up and about well before the witching hour. Back at Granny's with a bottle of water, a full plate of chicken parmesan and steamed organic vegetables, she settles into a booth next to Henry and, while she eats, they enjoy looking over his storybook.

A short time later, when Robin joins them; he finds them with their heads together, both wearing bright smiles.

"Hello love." He says bending to offer Regina a light kiss before he settles into the seat opposite her. Regina happily offers him her clean salad fork which she had no need of. "Here, eat some of this." She says pushing her plate nearer to him, so they can share. "I ordered too much."

Content to help himself, Robin spears a bite of chicken and holds it at the ready until after he says, "Not to puncture the party, but did you check on Zelena before you came this way?"

With her own fork midway between the plate and her mouth, Regina nods. "Still locked up. Still pregnant." When she catches the contrite expression Robin offers; she puts down her fork, offers him her hand and adds, "But that's something we can deal with..."

"Together…" He rubs the back of her hand with the pad of his thumb. "So, Little John has Roland for the night. Perhaps I could interest you in a walk in the moonlight."

Henry looks on quietly; obviously pleased to have his mom happy.

The brilliant smile Regina flashes belies her slightly teasing reply. "Perhaps." Wasting no time, she finishes one last bite, takes a sip of water and then kisses the top of her son's head. "You're going home with Emma tonight?"

Henry nods affirmatively.

Sliding out of the booth, and coming to her feet, she says, "Don't stay up too late."

Henry watches his mom and Robin Hood walk out of the diner hand in hand.

Outside, under the stars and indeed, in the moonlight, he smiles and asks quietly, "Where to, gorgeous?"

Smiling, Regina drapes an arm around his waist and shrugs one shoulder. "Don't care. Doesn't matter, long as I'm with you."

They walk, wandering aimlessly at first, but Regina isn't the least bit surprised when, several minutes later, she finds herself standing beside him deep in the forest that surrounds Storybrooke. Completely unfamiliar with this part of the forest, she holds Robin's hand, letting him guide her. He walks slowly, shortening his stride to accommodate her. Leaves and twigs rustle and crunch underfoot. Fallen limbs and stones in their path are no cause for alarm. Even in the dark, Robin seems to be exceedingly familiar with this place. Every step he takes is sure and confident.

"Is there any part of this forest that you don't know like the back of your hand?" She inquires quietly.

"Not really."

Unable to clearly see any identifiable landmarks in the dark; she uses other senses to gauge where they might be. Regina inhales deeply and sighs with content. "I have no clue where I am, and I don't remember changing direction, but we're getting close to the water. I can smell the salt in the air."

He chuckles quietly; affirming. "There's a break in the trees just up ahead."

When a well-timed breeze shifts the thick canopy of foliage overhead, moonlight penetrates just as he belatedly says. "Watch your step."

With little need of the warning, she steps over a fallen log with ease and grace.

Pulling him close and squinting up at him in the moonlight when he chuckles again, she asks playfully, "What's so funny, Robin Hood."

"Nothing's funny, exactly. I'm just pleased. To be honest, you're better at this than I thought you would be - your majesty."

It's her turn to chuckle. "Oh, I see. Queens don't often do this sort of thing?"

He shakes his head and flashes his smile. "Not in my experience - limited though, it may be."

"I'll admit, I haven't often hiked through the woods of Storybrooke; especially not after dark. However, this isn't the first time I've gone tramping through a forest in the dark. Although, last time, I'm pretty sure I was out for blood; probably Snow White's. This is better."

Halting their progress, coming to a complete stop, Robin throws back his head and laughs. "Well, I should certainly hope so. If not…" He lowers his voice to a whisper. "I'd say we have a very big problem."

Smiling seductively, He gently tangles his fists in her dark hair and pulls her in for a lingering kiss that only ends when she finds herself backed into something rough and solid. She sighs; rather pleasantly caught between a tall pine and the one she loves.

Hungrily, they kiss again; needing more from each other. When they part long seconds later, just before their hands begin to wander, she smiles and teases in a whisper, "Do you actually have a destination in mind, sir or did you just bring me out here in the woods to make out with me?"

Robin tilts his head to one side as if he needs to think about the question. After a beat, he whispers honestly, "Yes… and… yes."

Laughing; she says flirtatiously. "Okay. Fine with me. But…" She holds up a finger, "I'm warning you now. If I wake up itchy tomorrow morning with poison… anything, you're going to be in big trouble, Mister!"

"Okay." He murmurs while picking a fallen leaf out of her hair. "If you'll come with me, I think I have some place where I can almost guarantee that won't happen."

She places her hand in his once more and they're on the move again. As promised, before too much further, the tree line breaks, and Regina finds herself on a narrow strip of beach a few feet away from the water, a fire ready and waiting to be lit, and a large canvas tent tall enough for Robin to stand upright in.

Turning a slow circle, she looks around curiously. "Where's the rest of the camp?"

Robin points. "About 2000 yards that way."

"Ahh, a little over a mile away. So, you're telling me we have some privacy."

"Indeed, we do. I'm quite certain the merry men can all guess why I picked up and moved camp for the night but guessing and having it confirmed are to different things. Here… sit." He leads her to a large fallen log near the fire pit. "Give me just a minute and you'll be warm."

She watches him light kindling by striking a rather ominous looking hunting knife against a flat round stone until he produces a spark, and then a flame. Soon, there's a crackling fire.

Disregarding the fact that she could accomplish the same thing with the mere flick of her wrist, Regina teases. "You know, in this land, we have these handy little things called matches. Makes that much easier."

Nodding, he lifts one shoulder in a shrug as he sits down beside her and drapes an arm around her. "Yes, I know. But I already have the knife and I can find a rock anywhere. Matches cost money."

She nods slowly. "And you'd rather give that away to someone who needs it more than you."

"Most of the time, yes."

"Most of the time?"

He nods. "Been thinking."

"Oh?" she raises an eyebrow curiously? "Are there any thoughts you want to share?"

"Maybe a few. He breathes quietly as he leans over and kisses her temple. "First, soon, Roland will be old enough to start school. Marian could have taught him herself, he got his brain from her, but that's no longer an option. The potion did work, by the way. Thank you for that. This afternoon, Little John asked him what he'd made of New York. Roland's reply was, 'What is a new york, and is there an old one? So, I think it's safe to say he doesn't remember any of it. Anyhow, like I was saying; he's smart, Regina. And so curious. I'd like for him to have the chance to do something with all those smarts. He could have the chance to do something beyond what I can teach him… Something beyond just survival."

"Robin, don't you dare sell yourself short. You have more to offer than just survival skills… Far more."

"Sure. I can teach him to shoot a bow and arrow. I can teach him how to pick pockets, or how to rob royal carriages. Not the life I want from him, Regina. Besides, I'm sure you've noticed, there aren't many carriages around here; royal or otherwise."

"You can teach him how to be a man, Robin; a good man. You can teach him how to be a man with honor." Regina turns to face him; taking both his hands in hers. "I do think - not that you asked me - but I do think Roland should go to school. But, that lesson is one he won't learn in any school, and it will serve him far better than anything he gets from a textbook. I worry about Henry. Neal's gone. He's got me, he's got Emma, and Snow, but I worry there aren't enough good men in his life. David's great with him. But I don't want him getting all his ideas about being a man from Gold or even Hook. This is just one of the many, many things that makes me wish Daddy was still here. I wish they'd gotten to know each other. Daddy could've taught him things. Maybe everything - except how to pick a wife. Then again, Daddy didn't really pick Mother. He was sort of given to her in exchange for the kingdom's renewed prosperity."

Robin can feel the shutter of revulsion that passes through her body. He gives her shoulders a gentle squeeze as he chuckles quietly. "Yeah, I'm sorry, but you royals! You do have some screwed up notions about marriage."

She gives his chest in a playful thump. "Hey!" she objects loudly. "Don't lump me in with the lot of them. I never wanted to marry some stuffy old king! My marriage to Leopold was entirely my mother's desire. Apparently, she tried to do it herself… marry him, I mean. Which just makes my marriage to him that much creepier, now that I think about it. When she couldn't make that work, she decided I could do it. For all I know, she decided before I was even born. She risked seriously injuring, if not killing, a 10-year-old child to make it happen."

Regina tips her chin back and stares up at the stars. "I suppose I'm not completely blameless. I could've said no. I could've tried harder to escape. Although, if I had, I'm sure she would have found some other way to force the marriage."

"From what little I know of your mother, probably so. And you can stop worrying about Henry. He's fine. He's a good boy. You've done well with him, and Hook won't do him too much damage. He'll teach him to sail… and" Robin nods his head as he talks. "How to flirt with the ladies."

Regina groans. "That's the part of worries me. Henry walking around grinning like the one-handed wonder; full of himself and drinking rum while a gaggle of mindless tarts follows him around!"

"Hey now, Emma's not a mindless tart."

"No, she's not. I suppose his tastes are improving, I just knew him before Emma. He wasn't always so discerning."

Robin shrugs. "Maybe not, but he's changing. Something you know a little something about, right?"

"Okay, point taken, but I still worry."

"Of course, you do. That's what moms do."

"Apparently, that's what dads do too; at least the good ones anyway. Robin, Roland is going to be fine too. Roland is going to be better than fine."

"It's not just the school thing. He got sick a few weeks ago. We took him to the hospital in New York to see a doctor. They said it was no big deal. Just some type of respiratory infection. They gave him some medicine. He started feeling better in just a couple of days. Back home in Sherwood Forest, we could've gotten him better too, but it would've taken a lot longer. He would've been uncomfortable for weeks. So, I'm thinking maybe a place closer to town - just not too much closer - wouldn't be such a bad idea. Some place where I could still see the trees. If I could find the right place, and if I can afford it."

"We'd have to find you a job."

He nods with dismay. "That's problem number one. Who's going to hire a retired thief?"

Regina shrugs. "A security company looking to get a fresh perspective on theft?"

"Yeah? You got one of those here in Storybrooke?"

"Meh, maybe. Hey, what about a job as a locksmith? People lock themselves out of their homes and cars all the time. You could go legit; get paid for breaking in. Well, sort of. I could call Doc over at the hardware store. See if he could use someone to handle those type of calls, and maybe work at the key cutting counter. Either that, or you could hang out your own shingle; open your own business. What?" she queries when she realizes that he is shaking his head adamantly.

"if I do this, whatever job I get, I'll get it on my own. I don't need or want my girlfriend, the mayor, calling around town scaring people into hiring me."

"Who said anything about scaring anyone?" She bumps his shoulder with her own affectionately.

"Regina… Promise me!" Robin quietly demands with a stern look.

"Okay, okay, don't get your tights in a twist." She teases before she holds up her right hand. I promise I will not scare anyone into hiring you."

"Regina!"

"What? I promised."

"You're the mayor. The mayor who use to scare people. They all still remember that. So, you won't even ask… Got it?"

"Robin!"

"Nope… not even one person."

"But…"

He cuts her off, saying quietly but firmly. "No!"

"Not even if I promise to ask nicely." She pleads.

"Regina!" he repeats just a tad louder.

"Okay! You want to do it by yourself. I get it. I promise." She grimaces. "I will stay out of it. I will not say anything to anyone about you getting a job."

He smiles and winks at her in the firelight. "See, was that so hard?"

"Yes!" She declares with a sour look. "It was. And, it will be."

"Thank you." He kisses her cheek. Keep your promise, and maybe I'll make it up to you."

Still mildly peeved, she scowls, but raises an eyebrow in interest. How? What do you have in mind?"

"Well - maybe, if you behave yourself, and I know what a challenge that is going to be for you, but when I'm ready maybe I'll let you help me pick out a house?"

"Oh, I was thinking something more - immediate." She whispers sweetly. "But, really? You'd let me help you pick out a house?"

He chuckles and clears his throat. "Ahem, we can talk about something more immediate in a little while. And, why wouldn't I let you help me pick out a house? Why should that be a surprise?"

"Because, it's not something a girlfriend usually does, unless she's planning to live there too. That's really more of a wifely thing."

"Yeah well, In the back of my mind… maybe someday I'll have one of those again. Maybe someday soon. Only, I can't picture her leaving the mayor's house to come and live in a tent."

Caught off-guard and completely dumbfounded, Regina just stares at him; mesmerized and not quite certain she heard him correctly. Maybe she only heard what she wants to hear.

"Now, I know you and Henry love your house, and I want you to be comfortable wherever you live. I just don't know if Roland and I would ever fit in there. It's so fancy; at least it is for a guy who lives in a tent. So, I was thinking, maybe you could help me pick out a place where you and Henry might also be comfortable - someday." He stops, and then starts again hesitantly and tenderly. "That is; assuming we come through this current mess okay. I know this is a problem. I know it's hard for you."

She sits quietly for a few seconds trying to sort out the jumble of thoughts racing around inside her own mind; hoping to express those thoughts carefully and correctly. She can feel him getting tense beside her. She knows she is staying quiet for too long. So, trying to give him some peace, she takes his hand; lacing her fingers with his and squeezing gently.

After many more quiet seconds, she finally speaks. "It is hard, and I'm sorry. I wish it wasn't. I wish it didn't bother me, because I know that the fact that it does bothers you. I love you, Robin. Nothing would make me happier than being with you for the rest of my life. Finding a way to finally kill this darkness inside of me might be just as good. In fact, I'm sure It would be, but nothing would be better than being with you. Nothing could be better. I want to find a way through this mess; a way that works for both of us. I want to choke just saying this. But, if that baby is yours… Well, it's going to need a place to live too. Maybe it's not horrible either. It feels that way for me, but if you're serious about someday; then, this is your last chance to have another child. If that's something you want. If it's something you've ever even considered; then you're not being able to do that would break my heart."

"Of course, I considered having more children. Not too many years ago I thought I'd be having this conversation with Marian. I wanted Roland to have brothers and sisters. He still may. He may not. Regardless, this is not how I wanted to accomplish it. Regina no one wants this. Not even your sister wants this."

"Oh yes, she does." Regina whispers miserably.

"No, she doesn't. Not really. She's not actually yearning to have my child. She couldn't care less about me. She just wants someone to hurt as badly as she does because pain is the only thing she understands, and this is the best way she could think of to make it happen - or the worst way, depending on how you look at it."

"So, what are we going to do?"

Leaving his hand in hers, he puts his free arm around her and pulls her close again. "To start with, we'll do what you suggested and talk to a doctor; try to figure out if that baby really is mine. We'll take it from there. One step at a time. No matter what happens. I know you didn't want talk about it yesterday, but since we are talking about buying a house, and our future; suppose you tell me exactly why we can't plan on having a child of our own."

When she literally cringes, he kisses her temple. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

"I cursed myself." She whispers plainly, and with a regret so deep that it's tangible. When he cringes and then squints in confusion; she continues. "Sorry. There really isn't any way to sugarcoat that."

Quietly, gently, he questions. "You did what?"

"You heard me right the first time." She whispers. "Please don't make me say it again. It hurts too much."

"But Regina, why?"

"Leopold was dead. My crown, my thrown were in jeopardy. Snow wanted her kingdom back. And, my mother - she has no faith in my ability to hold on to either. Her connection to power was me. She wanted to use me for a baby mill. She wanted to pass the child off as Leopold's in order to strengthen my claim to the kingdom. Since he had just died, people would have thought it was still possible. I couldn't let her do it. I had to stop her. The thought of my child being left alone to be raised by her…" Regina shakes her head. "I was protecting that child. Even if protecting it meant never having it in the first place. Daddy tried to be a buffer between she and I for my entire youth. But he wasn't a young man. There was no guarantee that he would live long enough to be that same buffer for my child. Not that it worked out so great. I still went dark; despite all his efforts to the contrary. He tried so hard, Robin. He didn't even struggle in the end. He gave up his life, willingly. It was his final effort to try and save my rotting soul. I couldn't let her do that to another child. Certainly not my child."

"Okay. The part I don't get is why you wouldn't have been there to prevent it."

"Because, my own mother would have killed me to become the power behind that child-sized thrown. Don't think for a minute she wouldn't. If it weren't true, she wouldn't have gone to such lengths to make it happen. She tried to pass some stranger off as you in the hopes that he would service me…" she wrinkles her nose in utter disgust. "And, in doing so, sire a child."

Robin leans back, literally pulling away from her as far as he can without letting go of her. "Come again, please. I never even met your mother."

"No, I realize that. You don't know how close you came though. Count your lucky stars. Apparently, she bumped into Tinker Bell. Who told her the same story she told me - all about the man with the lion tattoo."

Regina pauses to touch the inked spot on his wrist; just a feather-light caress.

"I'm not sure if they met before or after Mother escaped the looking glass, but she showed up at Daniel's grave, on the anniversary of his death. She was contrite and apologetic for all the pain she'd caused. She said she wanted to help me find you. She said she knew I had botched our meeting at the tavern, and she wanted to fix it for me. I knew better, but I wanted to believe her. So, she showed up with this man with a lion tattoo. That night at the tavern, I never saw your face. However, I knew. Robin, I knew as soon as he opened his mouth that something was off. I know we'd never met, but that fairy, she said you were supposed to be my soulmate. Strangers or not, this guy didn't sound like soulmate material. He just felt all wrong. He was a condescending third-rate jerk and I have to believe that anyone who was supposed to be my soulmate would somehow automatically know better than to say the things he said to me. I got close to him - close enough to touch him… Right here." She caresses his wrist again. "His tattoo; it moved. It shimmered and glowed. That's when I had my proof. I knew it had been magically placed there. I demanded to know who he was. It was a question he never answered. Not even when I brought his stupid phony tattoo to life and it marched up his arm and threatened to rip out his throat. Mostly, he just stammered idiotically and pleaded. The one coherent thing he did say was that Mother has gone to all this trouble because she wanted me to have a child; he didn't know why. He was adamant about that last part. But it didn't matter, once he said it, it all fell into place for me. I threw his worthless, lying ass in the dungeon. He spent the night there, roasting over a fiery pit and screaming his lungs out until Mother came along the next morning and set him free. She admitted to me that she had gotten as far as the tavern the night before. She also told me that you were - her words - a married, moralizing, sap. I'm not sure where she got her information from, I can only guess that came from him. I told her she wouldn't get what she wanted, and then, I drank the poison."

"God Regina, I am so sorry she put you through that. I'm also glad you saw through the charade. Makes me wish even more that I had seen through Zelena's act, though." He shakes his head.

"Robin, that was an entirely different situation. He and I, we were strangers. He wasn't glamoured into the form of my long-dead spouse."

"No, but like you. I knew something was off. It just never occurred to me that Marian wasn't Marian."

"Don't beat yourself up. She's responsible for this. Not you. In my case, I might not have realized it either, if it hadn't been for that stupid phony tattoo. For now, let's just be glad that we finally found our way to each other, and that I got you back, physically unharmed, and in one piece."

Changing the subject, because she just can't talk about it anymore, Regina reverts to their earlier topic. "If you really want to look for a house, Storybrooke has this old apple barn. It's abandoned now, but it used to have these huge, old commercial presses in it. They used to drive apples in by the truckload and make cider out of them. All the machinery is gone now. It's on the outskirts of town, nestled in the woods. It's got plenty of hardwood, open spaces, and some beautiful multi-story windows. They would let in plenty of sunlight. You'd be able to see the trees from nearly every window; I'm sure. We could look into how much renovation to make it livable would cost. We could keep the rustic feel, but make it nice and comfortable on the inside, just maybe not quite as fancy as my place."

"An old apple barn, eh? What is it with you and all your apples?" He teases.

"What is it with you and all your arrows? She returns fire lightheartedly.

Gently, he brushes hair back from her face. Just before his mouth finds and claims hers, he whispers reverently, "I love you too, Regina." They fall together. Only when the need for oxygen forces their mouths to part does he ask rather breathlessly, "Are you ready to call it a night?"

Regina's only verbal response is a whimper of pleasure. With nothing more to say, she stands, reaches for his hand, brings him to his feet and gently leads him to the tent and the nearly sleepless night that awaits them both inside.

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Expansion of Power**

* * *

Regina wakes moments before dawn. Tired from too little sleep but also sated; still tingling with the memories of passions they shared in the night. Between bouts of love making, she and Robin and slept little, and talked more. Determined to behave like two carefree people; she was amazed, astonished even, at how easily it came. She hadn't thought it would be this easy. Was it supposed to be? Her sister was having a baby; maybe his baby. No… Probably his baby. Just, karma's way of reminding her of the debt she owes. She punches her pillow and groans aloud in frustration; wishing Zelena would depart from her mind.

What right did she have to invade this place; this place that Robin had obviously put a great deal of care and thought into providing for her. When Robin murmurs in his sleep, she goes still and holds her breath. She stays that way until she is certain he won't wake. Not one for doing nothing, she tosses off the blankets and gently separates herself from his embrace. Greeted by the cold morning chill, she rises and dresses as quickly and as quietly as possible. Before leaving him, she pens a quick note.

"Robin, last night was perfect. Call me when you wake. I have things to do. With you always, Regina"

She drops the note onto her own pillow and bends at the waist, leaning over the short wooden platform that serves as a bed frame for the thin, but much appreciated, camping mattress: she kisses Robin goodbye. She smiles when he stirs, yet again, but still does not wake. She shakes her head noticing, not for the first time, that he's a sound sleeper; hard to wake.

When she had first entered the tent last night she had expected to find little more than a pair of sleeping bags on the ground, and maybe an ice chest to keep a few refreshments in. Instead, she found a makeshift cot, a couple of battered lawn chairs, fishing poles, tackle, and heavy warm blankets and pillows to go along with the ice chest, lanterns, and the requisite shovel and pale. There was more than enough room to move around inside the tent. The cot had been a bit narrow for two, but they haven't had a problem making it work. They hadn't had a problem at all.

With the first rays of dawn peeking through the overhead foliage, she's more than capable of finding her way back to town. She retrieves her car from the parking lot of Granny's diner and heads for home. It doesn't take long to get there, but for the duration of the short drive the only thoughts in her head pertain to her sister. The rage that has been simmering under the surface begins to bubble haphazardly. What right did Zelena have to mess with their lives. She's probably the only person in this town that Regina has done absolutely nothing to. What right did she have to be angry, or to insinuate her malice and loathing upon them; attempting to ruin their potential.

Letting herself in her front door and turning off the household alarm system, Regina makes a silent vow, not for the first time, not to let Zelena succeed. But how to accomplish it. It must be handled delicately; to say the absolute least. On her way upstairs to the shower, Regina catches sight of Henry's storybook on the table in the front hall. He must have brought it home last night. Maybe he came by to get a change of clothes, or more likely, his game boy.

In the shower, she regrettably washes away all traces of Robin's scent from her body while she mentally makes a list of people she needs to call today; all the things that need to be accomplished, things that need to be set into motion. All the while, still seething over Zelena's latest debacle. Stepping out of a shower, she snatches the softest towel from the rod, pats herself dry. "Wrapping the towel around herself, she heads for her closet. While she dresses, she reasons that it's far too early to call anyone yet. When her hair and makeup are satisfactory she decides that the sensible thing to do would be to go downstairs and have breakfast. However, on her way down, she has to admit that she has no appetite for food. Wanting only a solution to her problems, she snatches Henry's storybook off the hall table downstairs and magically vanishes in a rotating cloud of purple smoke.

Arriving, deep inside her vault, she tosses the book onto the table and looks around; pacing restlessly. For a few minutes she tries, without much success, to get a handle on the roiling anger that wants to consume her.

"Stop it! Calm down!" She chastises herself silently. "This is what she wants. To take everything. To make me lose control and shatter the progress I've made. Calm down and think!"

With her hands on her hips, she prowls impatiently, pacing like some caged animal. "Calm down and think!" She verbally shouts at herself. With no idea what she's looking for, she begins combing the shelves with agitation; glowering with hostility at all her possessions within the vault, all the while, silently berating herself.

"How do I stop her? How do I get away with it? No…" she chastises herself again. "How do I do it without hurting anyone? The author? Operation Mongoose?" A dark smile slowly spreads across her face. She's got an idea. Well, part of an idea. "No." She stomps her foot in frustration. "That won't work either! Damn it!" Focused on her inner tirade, she snatches a long, rolled up, piece of parchment from a shelf. Unfurling it, she realizes that she's got nothing more than her mother's copy of her family tree. In disgust, she tosses the document to the table. She whirls in frustration. Catching sight of herself in the mirror across the room, in an act of pure self-loathing, she hurls a fireball at her own wretched reflection.

The moment the heated ball of rage leaves her fingertips, her mind screams one more time, No! Calm down! Stop it! Halfway across the room, the fireball suddenly stops. It hovers inexplicably, bobbing slightly in the air before reversing direction and slowly returning to her outstretched hand where it extinguishes itself as though of its own accord.

She stares at her, now empty, outstretched palm with disbelief. She flexes her fingers and stares at them oddly; as though they aren't attached to her own hand. The look that washes over her pretty face is not one of relief. Quite the opposite. It goes beyond shock. Right down to panic, right down to terror. For a moment, she stands perfectly still; frozen. When the ability to consciously process thought returns to her, she begins to tremble. Without even realizing that she's muttering the words, "No! No! No!" over and over again, she picks up Henry's book and the discarded family tree and vanishes yet again.

At the last possible second, she corrects course and reappears in the hallway outside the Charming's loft apartment, forcing herself not to magically enter without knocking. It's early. Their bed may as well be in the living room. Wouldn't want to - pop in - In the middle of anything intimate. As Regina knocks on the door, she scowls and shivers slightly at the thought.

In no time at all, Mary Margaret opens the door still in her pajamas and robe; the expression on her face rapidly shifting through expectation, surprise, concern, and outright worry. Obviously, she was expecting someone else.

"Regina?" She stares, confused by what she sees.

"I know it's early…"

"Never mind that, Regina." She says quietly, obviously mindful of her sleeping baby. "Come in before you fall over."

Regina steps through the door; turning back to face Mary Margaret. "I look like I'm about to fall over?" She inquires quietly. "Well, never mind, actually, it might be true."

Heading directly for her small kitchen, Mary Margaret pats the seat of a vacant bar stool. "Sit." She announces, already rounding the bar and picking up the empty tea kettle from a burner on the stove. "I'll make you some tea. Tell me what's happened. It can't be something with Henry. He's with Emma. If he were hurt or sick, she would call us."

Regina collapses onto the offered bar stool, dropping the items she brought with her onto the bar top and pushing them aside for the moment. "How do you know something's happened?"

Mary Margaret answers with her back turned while she adds water from the kitchen tap to the kettle "Because Regina, I've known you a really long time and, in all that time, I've never once seen you tremble."

"I didn't know I was trembling." She whispers the admission.

When Mary Margaret is done putting the kettle on the stove, she turns in utter astonishment to find Regina hugging herself as though to stop her own trembling. A single tear slips free from each eye and slides involuntarily down her face. Utterly perplexed but, without hesitation, Mary Margaret snatches the box of Kleenex from the top of the refrigerator and quietly hands it over. "What is it? Is it Robin?" She asks gently.

Annoyed with herself for such a display, Regina jerks a tissue from the box and dabs gently at her face trying not to do further damage to her make up. "No." She offers the other woman a watery smile. "Robin is fine. I left him less than an hour ago. He was still asleep."

"Well then, it's probably not little Roland either." Mary Margaret guesses. When Regina shakes her head miserably, she prompts again, "Just tell me! Does this have something to do with your sister? David mentioned…" She pauses choosing her next words carefully. "Her condition."

Regina sighs; resigned. "Of course, he told you."

"I am his wife. But, we won't tell anyone else if you're not ready."

"Thank you but…"

"Not why you're here?"

Regina shakes her head, then nods it; getting a temporary reign on her emotions if not her indecision. "Indirectly."

"Okay, tell me the rest."

Causing her chest to rise and fall noticeably, Regina pulls in a deep breath before admitting, in a whisper; "I threw a fireball this morning."

"At your sister… Oh dear! Just one?"

Regina smacks the countertop in front of her in frustration. "No!" She groans quietly. "Not at my sister! But, if I had, that's all you would have to say? Oh dear - Just one?"

"Regina, you don't need me to tell you that I don't want you going back into the darkness again. Having said that, if she were my sister and she pulled David into this mess. Well, I'd throw more than a fireball at her. Probably a couple hundred of them. So, yeah. Oh dear… Just one? But anyway, if not at her, then who?"

"Nobody." Regina hisses. "I threw it at the mirror, but that's not the important part."

"Wait! If you're telling me that you threw a fireball at your own reflection - then I have to say - yeah, I think that's pretty important. And, I know it's not what you want to hear, but I'm pretty sure Archie will agree with me."

"Will you please focus, Snow! I'm not talking to that irritating little bug. I'm talking to you. Also, I'm well aware of my self-loathing issues. Trust me, that's not the salient point here."

"Okay, what is the relevant point in all this?"

"It came back!"

"What came back?"

"The fireball." Regina hisses. "It stopped halfway across the room, came back into my hand and put itself out!"

Mary Margaret squints. "Maybe I'm confused, but isn't that a good thing?"

"No! That most definitely is not a good thing!"

Unconvinced, but willing to hear her out, Mary Margaret says, "Okay, tell me why that's not a good thing."

Looking slightly self-conscious; almost embarrassed, Regina admits in a hushed voice, "Because I've never had that much control. I've never been able to do that. Rage has always been my trigger, but it doesn't work like a light switch. I've never been able to just flip it off at will. Not once I get going. Turn it on, sure. Turning it off is another story."

"Again, isn't control a good thing?"

"No!" Regina repeats desperately. "Not if it means that my dark powers are growing; expanding! I don't want that!" She covers her trembling lips with trembling fingers and repeats miserably, "I don't want that!" She closes her eyes and shakes her head in agony. "Robin told me last night… He wants to get married… Someday. This can't be happening! My magic, my power hasn't changed, or shifted in years. I don't want this, Snow. It's supposed to be getting weaker; not stronger. I can't do this to him. I can't do this to Henry, or Roland! I feel like I'm coming apart at the seams." She laughs bitterly. "Which would please my sister to no end."

"Oh, who cares about her! You've got far more important issues to focus on right now." Mary Margaret pours two cups of tea from the whistling kettle and retrieves a plastic container of brownies from a kitchen cabinet before sitting down on her own stool across the counter from Regina. "First of all," She opens the container of sweets. "I think this calls for more than just chamomile." She centers the container between the two of them and grabs a few napkins from the napkin holder that is within easy reach. "Second, I'm no expert when it comes to magic. I'll be the first to admit that, but I'm not so sure things are as bleak as you think they are."

Regina groans quietly. "Please, spare me one of your hope speeches. Now is not that time."

She smiles. "Actually, I think now is probably the time when it's needed the most. But if you want me to, I'll see if I can come at this from a purely logical standpoint without all the flowery, feel-good pep rally speech."

"Yes, if you please."

"You say that rage has always been your trigger. I can see that. I can also see the rage is an emotion. If your magic is tied to your emotions… Well, after the last couple of days - It's a wonder you haven't blown something up before now."

"Blowing things up isn't the problem. I've been able to do that for years. Blowing things up, I can handle. This recall… That's new. That shouldn't be happening. I've never been able to do that."

"Okay, let's back up for a minute. You just said your magic hasn't changed or shifted in years. Regina, that's not exactly true. It changed earlier this year. I know I wasn't there to see it, but I wish I had been. David told me about you using light magic to stop your sister from taking Neal. He said it was quite the sight. I would have given almost anything to see you do that."

"Maybe. Thank you; I guess, but this wasn't that. Throwing fireballs isn't something you do with light magic."

"Maybe it's not. But, maybe recalling them is something you can do with light magic. Look, you've been having a tough time since Robin left for New York; before that actually. I would imagine that the last two days have brought everything to a head. Especially, if you two were talking about getting married last night, or even just about the possibility of maybe getting married someday. Your sister is pregnant. Emma says it may or may not be his baby. She hates you. You're in love, and obviously, the two of you have - reunited, if you just left Robin less than an hour ago." She smiles and pats Regina's hand. "Sounds like an emotional overload to me. And, for the last few days you been walking around cool as a cucumber. Which really just means that you were bottling it all up. Nobody, but nobody is calm and collected under that kind of pressure. Even us non-magical folks tend to blow things up under that kind of stress. What set you off this morning before you threw the fireball?"

Regina shakes her head and shrugs one shoulder while she plays idly with her cup of tea. "I guess it really started last night, if not before then. Last night - It was just -perfect, you know. I was afraid that she would change us. Change the way we were with each other. I was afraid she would tarnish it somehow. She didn't. I know she wanted to. But she didn't. I woke up this morning, and he was beside me, and everything was - perfect. At least it felt that way. Sounds ridiculous I know. We're not teenagers. We know things aren't perfect."

"Actually, they can be. If it's love; real love. It's not that there aren't problems. It's just that in those moments, those perfect moments, we choose to set all our problems and nonsense aside, if only for a short time, and just enjoy each other. So, things were perfect - and then what?"

Regina sighs. "And then she popped in into my head. I tried to shove her out. It was a slow burn. Started there with Robin, got me all the way home, and later to my vault before…"

"Things went a little sideways?"

Regina nods silently.

"Just out of curiosity, can you remember exactly what you were thinking about the instant before that fireball returned. After you threw it, but before it returned?"

"Oh yeah; definitely. No! Stop! Don't do this! Make it stop. But I'm telling you, that's never worked before. Not for me."

"Okay, but what has changed. Don't do this! Make it stop - but why? Why; make it stop?"

"Because it's wrong."

"Okay, maybe it is. But that didn't use to be enough of a reason to stop you Regina… So, what is?"

"I don't know."

"I'm pretty sure you do. Maybe you're just scared of the answer."

Feeling pushed and slightly cornered, Regina snaps. "Because Robin wouldn't want me to do that!"

"Ahh, there it is! There's your reason. Mary Margaret whispers. "Not so scary after all."

Suddenly exhausted, Regina slumps; resting against her elbows. "Actually, it's terrifying!"

Mary Margaret squints over her cup of tea. "It is? Why?"

"Because I really don't want to screw this up. That having been said, there's still this part of me that wants to roll her up in barbed wire and throw her down a very steep hill paved in gravel. And if I let him down, if I break his heart - I think it might actually kill me."

"Okay, so maybe instead of focusing on what you want to do to her, try focusing on what you need to do for yourself? The next time you feel like bashing her head in with a very heavy rock, ignore her; take her out of the equation. What do you need to do to make this work for you, and for Robin? This is about you and him; and maybe a baby. This has nothing to do with her, if you have to be a little selfish to survive, who cares. She only has power over you if you let her. She wants to hurt you; don't respond, don't take the bait. Ignore her. Do what you can to take care of yourself, Robin, and that baby. Don't give her free rent inside your head. She'll make a lousy tenant, and you're the one who will wind up miserable. Kick her freeloading ass out, Regina. There's no place for her in your relationship with him."

* * *

A short time later, after smoothing her hair back into place with her hands, and tucking her compact into her jacket pocket, Regina returns from the bathroom to the counter of Snow's kitchen where she finally grabs a napkin and helps herself to a brownie as she reclaims her barstool and her cup of tea. Without comment, she sits and watches as Snow looks over the scroll of parchment she brought along with Henry's storybook.

Absent-mindedly aware that she is no longer alone in the room, Snow murmurs without bothering to look up, "This is your family tree."

As she munches, Regina lifts one shoulder in a shrug. "Half of it anyway; my maternal half. It belonged to my mother. Must have come over in the curse with the rest of her things. I found it by accident this morning when I was throwing my tantrum."

Turning to face her with a gentle smile, Snow says, "You should write down the other half; your dad's side."

"That would be a very short project. I know absolutely nothing about them. Daddy never talked about them. I don't think he wanted to acknowledge them. All I know is that my grandfather basically gave Daddy away to Mother - like he was property. I'm sure that wasn't a memory he cherished."

"Still nobody I know desires family more than you, Regina. You may still have family back in the Enchanted Forest."

Pointing to the parchment in Mary Margaret's hands, Regina shakes her head. "I don't care to know any of Daddy's family. They threw him away. Given that, if there are any of them left, I can't imagine that they would be thrilled to meet me. All of Mother's people are dead; except for me… And Zelena; I guess."

"Are you sure?"

"You're holding the parchment. Do you see any names, besides my own, that haven't been assigned a date of death? Anyhow, if any of them are alive, I think I'd be even less interested in meeting Mother's people than Daddy's. I've never quite understood how having to spend 20 seconds on her knees in front of some spoiled princess darkened her so completely. I'm sure it wasn't pleasant. I understand her being angry, but to give me the final shove, she had to kill Daniel. In my mind, the two events don't even compare."

Well, that's because there is light in you, Regina. There always has been, despite all your passed efforts to snuff it out. Now, it's finally making a comeback. You look much better, by the way. Better than you did when you got here this morning; I mean."

"If you really think that fireball extinguished itself because of light magic, I can deal with that. I just thought- something else."

"I do think so, yes, and you just thought you were about to be sucked under again."

Regina nods. "I did. The light magic, it wasn't like last time. With Zelena, I had to think about it; I had to consciously choose it. This time, it just happened."

Walking back around the bar, and returning to her seat, Mary Margaret says, "Well, that has to feel pretty good." She flattens the parchment out on the countertop; putting her napkin holder down in the center of the upper edge and the container of brownies on top of the lower left edge to keep the document from rolling up on itself.

Regina shrugs. "It didn't feel good when it was happening. It felt bizarre; even freakish. But, it's starting to feel better now."

Mary Margaret lectures gently with absent-minded patience as she continues to study the aged parchment "Give it time. You just misunderstood what was happening. It only felt bizarre because you're not used to it. It's unfamiliar that's all. Change is scary; even the good kind."

Regina carefully places her hand down flat against the one corner of the document that is still unrestricted and curling inward. "What is it about this old thing that you find so interesting?"

"Are you kidding? You've got seven generations listed here. It's your history. That doesn't interest you?"

"Not really, no. There's not a lot of light back there, Mary Margaret."

"Then why did you bring it here?"

"This morning, when I was mad, I threw it down on the table next to Henry's book. I didn't want to leave his book there in my vault. He'll be looking for it. When I left, I just grabbed it because it was with the book."

She nods in response before asking, "What's this symbol mean? What language is that? Elfish?"

Regina glances at where she points and nods. That's the symbol assigned to purveyors of dark magic."

Mary Margaret quickly scans the entire document. "All of them? All of these women…" She queries in astonishment. "Except for the one at the very top; Norah. I don't see this symbol anywhere on her leaf."

Regina points. "That's because she has this symbol instead. This represents light magic. Judging from the rest of the markings…" Regina pauses to double check before she speaks further. "She was one of the strongest practitioners of light magic for her time."

Mary Margaret quickly looks again before she whispers in childlike wonder. "She's the only one? What happened? No offense." She covers quickly. "it's just; if she was really that powerful…"

"Her daughter, Cassandra went dark. According to this, Cassandra didn't practice magic until later in life. She came late to the practice. I remember, my mother once told me that she fell in love, and had an affair with, a married man. She got pregnant. After the baby was born, her lover's wife killed both the man and his child in a fit of heartbreak and jealousy because she was barren; she couldn't have children of her own. See, this was the baby, here." Regina points. "Lucinda; she died when she was only four months old. It drove Cassandra over the edge. Mother said she blamed her lover for not having the courage to leave his wife. According to rumor, she went on a killing spree. She supposedly used dark magic to kill all of the married men in five villages; before somebody finally killed her in the sixth."

"Poor Cassandra. That's so sad."

Regina raises an eyebrow. "Poor Cassandra? You can even find empathy for her. She's been dead for hundreds of years and you never knew her at all."

"If that story's true, then It's the wife who should've been held accountable. People do things. People make mistakes. Even husbands. Even the good ones. Who willfully chooses to murder a four-month old baby? If somebody did that to Neal…" She glances over at her son's cradle as a tremor visibly rolls through her body

Regina shakes her head. "No, you wouldn't. Giving into that - that would be an insult to your son's memory. Snow, that would be an insult to his life. I wouldn't let you do it."

"Zelena tried."

"Yes, she tried. She did not succeed. We stopped her."

Mary Margaret shakes her head. "You stopped her. And I never even said thank you."

Regina squints and waves the comment aside. "Completely unnecessary; but, you're welcome. And, stop looking at this wretched family tree. Generations of depravity is enough to depress anyone. I should just throw that damn thing away."

Startled, Mary Margaret looks up and objects in a shocked whisper. "Regina, you can't. You can't do that. You cannot throw away half of your family history!"

Rising to her feet, Regina snatches the parchment up off the counter and rolls it up tightly. "You're right. I can't throw away my history. She drops the parchment into a nearby trash can. "But I can throw away the ugly record of it. The only thing that parchment is proof of is the fact that broken parents raise broken children."

Retrieving it in haste, and unrolling it again, Mary Margaret lays it out flat once more and pauses to scowl at her friend in warning while she rummages through a kitchen drawer until she finds an ink pen. "Regina, don't touch it. It's not going back in the trash. And yes, broken parents do raise broken children. In fact, I'll wager, almost always. However, every once in a great while, a broken child heals." Again, she studies the symbols on the parchment with a keen eye for detail. After several long seconds, she smooths the parchment; pressing it flat before she begins to carefully draw in a space near the very bottom.

"What are you doing to it?"

"What do you care? You were going to throw it away."

Regina leans over the counter to get a closer look. When she realizes what happening, she hisses, "Don't do that. Don't put that there."

Careful not to look up from her work, Mary Margaret queries, "Why not? It's the truth."

Putting her hands on her hips, Regina shakes her head adamantly. "At best, it's a half-truth. I don't even have control over it."

"Yes, you do. When you need it. Besides, you're going to get better at it."

"You don't know that!" Regina says with mild irritation.

"Umm… yes I do! But, even if I'm wrong… even if you don't get better…" She pauses to hold up the parchment, displaying her handiwork and the newly inked symbol for light magic right beside its dark counterpart under Regina's name near the bottom of the page. "It's still the truth!"

When Regina reaches for the document, her friend pulls it away. "No! Uh-uh! You don't get it back, at least not yet, anyway."

"Don't be ridiculous, Snow. What are you going to do with it?"

"I'm going to take it to Marco and ask him to custom-make a frame for it!" She smiles brightly.

Helping herself to a second brownie, Regina makes a sour face. "God! Your annoying!"

Wholly unoffended, she shrugs. "I'm also proud of you - and I don't care who knows it. You're the most resilient woman I know. Proof is right here. It's literally in writing. That should be recognized; not hidden away in some dusty old vault. Regina, this should be celebrated."

Slowly, almost carefully, Regina returns to her bar stool where she calmly sits down, crosses her legs and looks at Mary Margaret as if she's expecting something.

"What?"

Drolly she asks, "If I stop resisting, will you turn down the love and sunshine a few notches? You're making me nauseous. I would be ashamed to regurgitate a perfectly good brownie."

"Okay, but since I've already annoyed you anyway…" She raises an eyebrow.

"Oh God; what now?"

"You really should put Zelena's name down here. She has a right to be on here too."

Regina shakes her head adamantly. "Don't push it; and make up your mind! First, you tell me to kick her out. Now you want me to welcome her with open arms?"

"Regina - I told you to kick her out of your head and your relationship with Robin. You don't have to personally welcome her to the family. She's already a member. Her problem is, she just doesn't feel it."

Regina grimaces; her eyes returning to the parchment. She silently stares for so long that Mary Margaret is led to glance downward at the document she still holds. "What? What is it? Is something wrong with it?"

In deep thought, and talking only to herself, Regina repeats in a whisper, "Broken parents make broken children." Mulling private thoughts over in her mind, she puts the last bite of brownie she still holds into her mouth and brushes her fingertips against a napkin. Next, she stands up so quickly that she catches Mary Margaret completely by surprise. "I have to go!"

Taken aback by the sudden announcement, Mary Margaret offers her a confused nod. "Oh, alright. Go where?"

Regina nods as if answering a question that no one asked her. "I have to go take care of my niece."

Mary Margaret squints. "Okay, wait! by 'take care of' you mean exactly what?"

Picking up Henry's storybook, Regina motions with her left hand; rolling her wrist in the air as she talks. "You know; take care of. As in… look after, watch over, baby sit, care for."

"Okay, first things first. You do realize this baby isn't born yet?"

Regina scowls. "Of course, I realize that!" She points to Baby Neal; who is cooing softly in his cradle. "Did you wait until after he was born to start caring for him."

"Of course not." Mary Margaret answers softly.

Regina nods again. "Right. No time like the present. May as well get started. That baby she's carrying, whether she's Robin's daughter or not, she is my niece and she's got seven generations of dark women that came before her. All of them dark and broken because no one cared enough to do the right thing. I am not going to just stand idly by and allow history repeat itself again!"

She gestures toward her family tree. "I can't say I really care what happens to Zelena, but she is the way she is because she thinks no one cared for her. I'm not going to let that happen to my niece. I told Lily two days ago that babies are blank slates. Zelena is not going to ruin her, not if there's anything I can do to stop it. I am going to get through this by making it my mission to see that this girl walks in the light!"

Pleased that maybe Regina has found her own way through the mess, Mary Margaret offers her a bright smile. "Is it okay if I point out that it's too early to know for sure that she is a girl?"

Regina shakes her head; gesturing toward the document again. "No, it's not. Look at it. Do you see the name of even one male who didn't marry into the family? Do you see the name of even one male who was born into the family? We don't give birth to boys. We are an entire bloodline of strong, powerful, beautiful, and almost always, vengeful women. It's time somebody tried to put a stop to that last one, and I don't think it's going to be accomplished with more darkness."

Mary Margaret scans the document yet again. "Okay, I don't know if it's weird, or if it's impressive; maybe a little of both. But you're right. Every man listed here married into the family."

Regina smiles. "Told you." She breathes quietly. "We have girls."

"Okay, so what led you to adopt a baby boy?"

"I wanted someone who could carry the names of the men I've loved."

Mary Margaret wrinkles her nose and chuckles. "Yeah, Henry Daniel Mills, wouldn't work too well on a baby girl. Can I point out just one more thing?"

Headed for the door, Regina asks dryly, "Can you do it quickly?"

"it's just that… Well… Your sister did all this to try and destroy you. So, don't you think maybe that if you show up full of love and acceptance for that child, she might be just a little - oh, I don't know - pissed off?"

Regina opens the front door, ready to step out into the hall, and finds David standing there with a mildly startled look on his face; as if he were about to enter. "Hi David; bye David!" She says quickly before turning her next comment back to Mary Margaret. The smile Regina offers is slow to form but dazzling and there's just the barest hint of something hard and dark in her sweet voice when she declares wholeheartedly, "I'm counting on it."

As the queen departs in an energetic whirl of royal vapor, Mary Margaret throws back her head and laughs boldly. Closing the door behind himself, David crosses the room and drops a light kiss on her cheek. "What was Regina doing here this early, and what was that all about?"

Mary Margaret shakes her head in amusement. "Before her life is over with, for the record, I think Regina's going to be damn good. But no matter how good she gets, she's always going to be just a little bit bad!"

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Careful What You Wish For**

* * *

Regina spends most of her morning on the phone. Whether making calls that pertain to her sister's well-being, or seeing to her mayoral duties, by noon she feels as though she's literally handcuffed to the annoying device. The only truly enjoyable part of her morning was a text message from Robin that she received on her personal cell shortly before 9:00 AM. It was his response to the note she had left on her pillow for him to find.

"Good morning, mi'lady. As requested, I called. Your phone went straight to voice mail, which means you're probably already at work. I'm awake, but I woke up alone! You snuck out! Shame too. We could have had some more fun. Are you with me for lunch?"

Regina had cradled the receiver for her office phone between her neck and shoulder. Only half listening to Dr. Weil's nurse yammer on about appointment scheduling, she had shifted position in her chair, uncrossed, and then re-crossed her legs in the opposite direction before she picked up her vibrating cell phone, read his message, and muttered quietly as she had typed out her response. "I'm with you, always. 2:00 okay? I'm a little tied down this morning, and it might run past noon."

"I beg your pardon, Madame Mayor?"

There were a full two seconds of silence on the line before Regina realized that the nurse had overheard her verbal response to the text message. "Sorry, nothing. I wasn't talking to you. Go on with what you were saying, please."

Mere seconds later, her phone vibrated again.

"Well, whoever he is, you tell him that he'd better untie you now! You're my girl! I'll see you at 2:00 PM."

Caught off-guard by the playful message, and fully aware that Dr. Weil's nurse would probably think she was in desperate need of a psychological consult, Regina had burst out laughing.

When 12:30 comes around, she is sick of the mayoral drudgery; and hungry. The two brownies she had for breakfast with Mary Margaret, nearly 6 hours before, are long gone. For a moment, she's tempted to call Robin and ask to change their lunchtime if possible, but then she decides that she may as well go see her sister first and get it over with.

A short time later, she steps off the elevator in the hospital basement and before she makes it three steps the elevator next to the one she just departed dings; signaling its arrival. The doors open, and a familiar male voice asks, "Going my way?"

Already smiling, she turns. "What are you doing here?"

Draping an arm loosely around her shoulders, Robin answers, "I thought I'd come see Zelena before lunch…"

Regina nods, and they finish in unison. "And, get it over with."

Laughing at themselves; they both nod in silent greeting to the sour-faced nurse on duty behind the desk. In step with each other, they walk the short distance to Zelena's cell. As they approach, they realize that the door is open. They can hear one of the nurses inside the small gloomy space shouting, "You will stop this at once!"

Taking the lead, but with Robin literally at her heels, Regina darts into the room expecting any manner of chaos except for the one she encounters. Misunderstanding what is happening when something hard smacks her in the face, she thinks that she and Robin are being attacked. In the fraction of a second before she realizes that what assaulted her was a plastic bowl containing organically grown broccoli, she throws one arm out sideways, shielding Robin from harm as he tries to step around her, and hurls a fireball aiming in the general direction of anything with ginger colored hair.

The angry red ball of heat is lightning quick, but it stops traveling instantly when Regina roars, "Stop!" It hovers; bouncing ever so slightly in the air the way its predecessor had done earlier this morning. However, this one skids to a halt a mere inch from her sister's nose.

Grimacing as she brushes broccoli off her clothes, Regina waves her free hand and magically causes the fireball to disintegrate into nothingness.

While Zelena stands rooted to the floor, in shock, like a deer caught in headlights, her sister also gently brushes a lush green floret off Robin's shoulder. To herself Regina thinks, Getting better all the time; hell of a learning curve. To her sister she says, "You're lucky I've got good breaks."

Trying to flatten herself against a wall, out of the way of danger, the nurse in the room mutters quietly, "Damn lucky."

Zelena glares at the woman. "Oh, do shut up! Who the bloody hell asked you?

"Pipe down Zelena!" Robin snaps. "What are you, one year old? Roland stopped throwing his food when he was two! What the devil's going on in here?"

Zelena points an accusing finger at the nurse and hurls her kale smoothie at the woman, "She brought me this slop!"

Before the plastic cup can ruin the front of the nurse's pristine uniform with a vivid green stain, Regina waves her hand and the cup vanishes along with all its contents midair. To the nurse, she says, "I apologize for my sister's lousy behavior. Thank you, you can go now. I'll clean up the mess. Bring her dinner promptly at 7:30 …" Dryly, she adds, "I suggest wearing an apron of some sort; perhaps a raincoat."

Only too happy to be dismissed, the harried nurse strides from the room, sliding sideways passed Regina and Robin, with a curt and perfunctory, "Yes Madam Mayor."

"Does everybody in this bloody town do what you tell them to? "Zelena snaps with hostility.

"Pretty much, yes." Regina watches her glower; her lips curling with disdain.

"Careful sister dear, you are back in a land with magic. Would be a shame for you to turn green with envy again." Regina bends, squatting on her heels to retrieve the small plastic bowl, and begins picking up pieces of broccoli off the floor. When she is far enough inside the door for it to close behind her, Robin not only pushes it closed, but stands in front of it; arms crossed over his chest, legs spread slightly apart and resting on the balls of his feet, like a sentry taking up his post.

When the mess has been cleaned up, Regina returns the bowl to one corner of Zelena's noon meal tray; careful to set it away from what remains of her food. "First of all, Zelena, you shouldn't antagonize the nurses. They are here to care for you and your baby. The head nurse, Nurse Ratched, is not a friendly woman. So, if you were to upset them, they might be less inclined to do their job to the best of their ability. I know, especially since that baby is your only leverage over me, that you don't want anything to happen to her. I, therefore, would advise you to do everything within your power to take care of her. She needs food. She needs good food. Which brings me to my second point, this is not slop. I have personally seen to it that you will eat better than any other person down here; far better."

"If you think it's so grand, you eat it!"

Regina picks up half the sandwich on her sister's plate and lifts one corner of multigrain toast to peek inside, and then does, indeed, help herself to a bite. While she chews, she sets the rest of the sandwich back down on the tray and paces with her hands folded comfortably behind her back. When she can, she says, "Yum… Lean turkey, spinach, cranberry sauce, cream cheese on nice warm toast…" She turns and winks at her sister with sweet antagonism. "And not a single trace of poison. You'll have plenty of organically grown fruits and vegetables, lean meats, orange juice for Folic acid, and fish for those nice omega 3's; they build healthy brains. You do want your daughter to have a healthy brain; right?"

She goes on before Zelena can reply. "Breakfast is at 8:00 AM. Lunch is 12:30. Dinner isn't until 7:30, but if you behave yourself, they're supposed to bring you a nice healthy snack at 4:00. The nurses will bring you any medication or vitamin supplements that the doctor prescribes for you at the appropriate time of day. When the time comes, I'll send someone to help you out with Lamaze classes. You have your first ultrasound appointment scheduled for the day after tomorrow. You're not allowed to know what time it will happen until we come to take you upstairs. Robin and I both will be there. Before we do the ultrasound, we're going to sit down and have a serious conversation with the doctor regarding paternity tests and exactly when the best time to do one is. Robin and I both will drop in to visit frequently, and at random. Sometimes together, sometimes apart. It all depends on our personal schedules. Other than the two of us, the doctors and nurses; you will have no visitors."

Ready to leave, Regina walks to Robin's side before she stops and removes a small vial filled with black liquid from her jacket pocket. She holds it up, putting it on display.

Mildly curious, but acting as if she's bored, Zelena asks with a yawn, "And, what might that be?"

Regina smiles dangerously. "Oh this? This vial of ink? This is my little insurance policy." You wanted to be in my life forever? Well guess what? You got what you wanted. Of course, that means that I'm going to be in your life forever, because even if that baby isn't Robin's, I'm going to be the most attentive aunt anyone has ever seen. I'm going to personally make sure that child gets the best care possible, regardless of who her father is, and if you don't like it, if you retaliate, if even one person I care about gets hurt…" Regina jiggles the vial." I will go fetch the author from his cell at the police station and together he and I will make sure that your baby is born safe and healthy, I will keep her. I will raise her, and Greenie, I will send your ass back to Oz; never to return!"

Zelena chuckles and then makes a soft tsking sound. "Regina." She says merrily but snidely, "Your bluffing; and very badly dear. You see, yesterday morning after Sheriff Nolan put me in the back of his police cruiser I overheard him talking with Mary Margaret, and Malificent. I know that the ink doesn't work. It must be charged with the Savior's darkness. It seems dear Rumpelstiltskin was trying to turn her, or that he was hoping she would kill Lily and that would turn her. Unfortunately, darling sister, you stopped that from happening. Talk about self-defeating behavior. No dark savior, you can't charge the ink. Without it, you can't write anybody's happy ending; not even your own."

Robin turns a raised eyebrow Regina's way. Silently asking if what Zelena's says is true.

Regina drops the bottle of ink safely into her jacket pocket and then pats it gently as she nods with phony regret. "Yes Robin." She confirms softly. "I'm afraid what she says is true. The ink is not currently charged. It will have to be in order for it to work. What she doesn't know is that I have figured out precisely how to accomplish that."

Zelena's laughter is something dark and insidious. "Going to turn the savior dark, are you? Going to throw in the towel? Give up all this goodness and light? Going to abandon all this hero nonsense? Going to risk losing your son again by hurting his other mummy."

"Nope! See, I've figured out how to get exactly what I need without even laying a hand on the Emma; much less turning her dark."

Zelena clicks her tongue against the inside of her cheek. "See, I still think you're lying."

Regina shrugs as if she hasn't a care in the world. In a saccharine sweet tone, she hums, "To bad you don't have a superpower like Emma's. She always knows when I'm lying. Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not." She flashes a wide, brilliant smile as she opens the cell door. Placing her hand in Robin's, she lets him lead her out into the hallway. Turning her head back over her shoulder as she closes the door; she whispers venomously, "Do you really want to find out?"

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Fodder for The Gossip Grapevine**

* * *

Opening a bottle of water, Regina kicks off her heels and steps onto the blanket that Robin spreads for them under the shade of a large oak in the park across from the town hall. She waits for him to pick his spot. When his back is against the trunk of the ancient tree, his legs stretched out, and his feet crossed at the ankles; she settles in beside him, close enough for their thighs to touch, and begins sorting through takeout bags of food from Granny's. Their first few moments together are silent, except for the faint rustling of plastic-ware being pried free from cellophane wrappers, the folding of napkins, and the opening of Styrofoam containers.

While they settle in, townspeople who are out enjoying the afternoon sun, glance their way curiously as they pass by. It's unheard of; seeing the mayor outdoors and looking so relaxed and carefree.

After a few bites of a hearty cabbage soup and chicken caesar salad, Regina's gnawing urgency for food begins to subside and she sighs with content for the first time in hours.

Busy with his own meal, Robin glances over. "Hungry?"

"Ravenous. I shouldn't have waited so long. I was starting to tremble." When concerned seeps into his warm eyes, she waves it aside. "I'll be fine in five minutes. Those two brownies I had for breakfast wore off hours ago. All I need is some protein."

Robin squints curiously. "Brownies? For breakfast? Doesn't sound like you."

Shaking her head, she helps herself to another bite of salad. "It's not. I had a complete meltdown this morning. I went to see Snow. She put me back on the right track, but not without supplying me with copious amounts of chamomile and chocolate."

"Define meltdown, please?"

Regina groans with dread, and takes a sip water before saying, "I'd rather not. Now that it's over, it's more than a bit embarrassing."

Robin moves his fork from his right to his left hand, and then places his right hand gently against the inside of her left knee. "There's nothing you can't tell me, Regina. Please tell me you know that."

She smiles with uncertainty. Thinking of all the many things she doesn't say, she answers quietly "I know you think that."

Partly because he doesn't want to argue with her, and partly because he knows it wouldn't do any good anyway, he swallows mild irritation with a sigh, and instead, he reaches for her hand. "I know who you are, Regina. I know who you used to be, and I'm telling you, I'm not going anywhere."

Still nervous but recognizing that he's trying to meet her more than halfway, Regina sets her food aside for the moment. "I woke up in such a good mood this morning. However, it didn't take long for Zelena to find her way into my head. She soured my mood and before I knew it things were all twisted up again. Well, not again. Things never got untwisted. I just…"

He pats her knee tenderly. "You just stopped thinking about it for a little while. We both did. Why didn't you wake me?"

She chuckles wryly. "If I woke somebody up every time the evil queen spoke up inside my head, no one in this town would ever sleep."

"Regina…" he starts with forced patience. "I'm not just somebody."

"No, you're not." She caresses his face gently. "I know that, which is precisely why I let you sleep. She's there all the time, Robin. Sometimes even in my sleep. This is hard enough on you without me waking you before sunrise, because I'm already on the warpath; fuming and barely in control of myself."

"Isn't she ever quiet?"

Regina starts shaking her head, but then stops. "Well, there is one time when she's quiet."

"Well, don't keep me in suspense." He prods gently when she falls silent.

Lowering her voice, for his ears only, she says simply, "During sex."

Not expecting this quietly delivered announcement, Robin narrowly avoids choking on a french fry, and helps himself to a drink of her water before clearing his throat. "Ahem, really?"

Regina nods emphatically. "That's the only time she shuts the hell up; leaves me alone."

He loops an arm around her shoulders and holds her tight as he lifts his face toward the sky and laughs boldly. "Well, that explains a few things."

"Like what?" She raises an eyebrow in challenge.

Robin opens his mouth to speak, then snaps it shut again, giving his next words careful thought before speaking them. "Don't take this the wrong way. I don't want you to think this is a complaint because it sure as bloody hell isn't. But you're a little - assertive; sometimes even outright aggressive. Now I know why." In a whisper, he embellishes slightly, but not much. "Kiss me, touch me, do whatever you want. I don't care! Just make her shut the hell up!"

Regina steals a light kiss before she joins in on the laughter. "Laugh if you want. I don't care. It's the only thing that works. And it works well. She likes you, a lot!"

"I'm so glad! If she didn't, we'd have a big problem; wouldn't we?"

"Colossal!"

"You still should've woken me up this morning."

She shakes her head. "You looked so peaceful. One of us should be allowed to sleep past dawn. Besides, I'm tired of talking about it, and by it, I mean Zelena. This morning it was time to do something about it. I wanted to have a solution, some kind of action plan, not just another conversation. I made my way from your tent, to my house, and then later, to my vault. I was trying to decide how to deal with her, and as usual, I was also trying to rein myself in. All of my initial thoughts were - unacceptable. I lost my temper, and something unexpected happened." She shivers at the memory and goes silent for several beats.

"I'm listening." He tries to quietly reassure her.

"I threw a fireball across the room."

Not yet understanding the significance, he shrugs and squints; waiting for more information. "Given the circumstances, that's not surprising Regina. There are times, just recently in fact, I've wished I had the ability to do that."

She sighs deeply. "Don't wish for that. My ability to do that has gotten me into far more trouble than it has gotten me out of, and this morning, it literally terrified me. I was trying to talk myself down, but I threw the damn thing anyway. Then, I yelled at myself for doing it: and that's when it came back to me."

Still confused, he shakes his head. "I don't understand. I saw you do the same thing just a little while ago. What's the big deal?"

She nods in confirmation. "Yes, you saw me do that just a little while ago. The big deal is, until this morning, I've never done that. Never! Not once! I've never had the ability to recall them once I let them go. Rumpelstiltskin tried to teach me how to do that. It was a skill I never acquired; much less mastered. It horrified me. I thought…" she falls silent again and stares down at her hands.

"Ahh, I understand the meltdown now. Here you are trying so hard to find a way to separate yourself from the evil queen's darkness. You thought this mess with Zelena was pushing you closer to it." He rubs her knee again. "I still wish you'd stayed this morning. I hate knowing that anything scared you and I wasn't there to help."

Taking his hand, she laces her fingers with his. "I know you aren't going to like this, but I wanted to be as far away from you as possible. There's a difference, Robin, between hearing the rumors about my past behavior, and witnessing a bit of it for yourself. Whereas, very little of what I might possibly say or do shocks Snow. She's seen me at my best, and she's seen me at my absolute worst. I know ours is a strangely unique relationship, but sometimes it helps me sort things out if I don't feel like I have to…"

He nods. "Either hold things back, or apologize for every word that comes out your mouth?"

Regina nods uncomfortably. "I don't want to scare you away, but sometimes, I'm no better than she is. I can be just as heartless, unconscionable, and cruel. That's true today, and it was certainly true in the past. Hearing people talk about that; and seeing it for yourself are two different things. Until we know for sure whose baby that is, for the health of this relationship, I think there are probably some things I just shouldn't say or do in your presence." She offers him a tentative smile. "Snow told me to kick her out. There's no room for her between you and me."

He drapes an arm around her shoulders again and pulls her as close as possible. "Snow's pretty smart." He kisses the top of her head.

She nods. "I'm not about to tell her that, but she did talk me off the ledge, so to speak. All I saw were the bad possibilities. It didn't occur to me that maybe I could throw a fireball using dark magic, but recall it using light."

"Hmm… well, if this morning was the very first time you did it, then I have to say, it may have taken you a long while to figure it out, but now that you have, you seem to have gotten control of it fairly quickly."

"I don't know. I think Zelena just got lucky. This morning it happened by accident. That fireball this afternoon, was just a knee-jerk reaction. If I hadn't caught on in time…" She laughs drolly. "And all that because I was trying to do something… decent… for that baby girl. I promise I did not know she would have that sort of reaction to broccoli and kale. If it were anyone else, I might be tempted to blame it on pregnancy hormones. In her case, I think that was 100% pure Zelena."

"I hope it was pregnancy hormones. If it wasn't, things are going to get bad before this is over. Those pregnancy hormones just make women go a little wild. Marian was one of the most mild-mannered people I've ever known. However, when she was pregnant with Roland, probably about seven months in… It was late November, maybe early December… She woke me up in the middle of the night, and said she wanted watermelon. I was used in her waking me up. But what was I supposed to do about watermelon in the dead of winter. When I tried explaining, quite calmly, that they were out of season; I thought, for a minute, that she'd take my head off! Less than 30 seconds later she was sobbing and apologizing profusely."

"Oh no. Poor Marian. It's never occurred to me to think about pregnancy cravings and whether or not they could be seasonally inconvenient." She chuckles softly.

"Poor Marian?" Robin laughs heartily. "There was 3 feet of snow on the ground. She wanted me to put in a watermelon patch! I'm good, but I'm not that good. Funniest part is, Roland hates watermelon; he won't touch the stuff!"

Leaning against Robin's shoulder for support; Regina laughs with abandon. "Well, Zelena will settle down over the next few days, or she will get exponentially worse after today's little tête-à-tête. We'll wait and see."

"Did you mean what you said to her… About raising the baby?"

"I said that in an attempt to coerce her into leaving me alone; into leaving both of us alone. However, yes, I meant it. Especially if she's yours. I'm not about to let Zelena ruin your daughter the same way my mother ruined both of us. It's so strange to think that Zelena never even met her, but somehow she did just as much damage to her as she did to me."

"You keep saying she's a girl."

"She is."

"I didn't know seeing into the future was one of your many talents."

"It's not. But I can see into the past, with a little help from a mother's family tree. Not a single male child born into the family for at least the past seven generations. Not to mention, every single one of us darker than the devil's waistcoat for the last six generations."

He squeezes her shoulders with affection. "That's a lot of darkness."

"Yes, I know, scary isn't it?"

"I wouldn't say that. I'm not saying that. Knowing it just makes me that much prouder of you. Some people might use six generations of darkness running through their bloodline as their excuse to give up."

Regina grimaces. "Maybe Snow is rubbing off on me. When I first found the chart in my vault this morning, I tossed it aside. I dismissed it, certain it had absolutely nothing to offer; at least nothing that would help me end this ridiculous vendetta Zelena has against me. The parchment wound up with me in Mary Margaret's kitchen later this morning. I must've looked at that thing two dozen times over the years. I never paid attention to the name at the top of a list. Norah, my great grandmother, four times over; she was as light as they come. At least, that's what the family tree says. All it took was one devastating loss for one of her daughters to go bad. The cycle hasn't been broken since. But, at least now I know that there was light back there somewhere." She shrugs. "Call it hope, or desperate desire, but it helps."

Robin nods, "Doctor's appointment the day after tomorrow?"

"Yes. And, the first ultrasound too. But, it's too early to know yet medically. Right now, she's probably not much more than the spine, a brain stem, and a beating heart. The sex organs won't form for several months yet."

Robin squints. "What exactly is an ultrasound? And how do you know all this?"

"Long conversation with Dr. Weil this morning. Or, more accurately, a brief conversation with him, and a very long one with his nurse. An ultrasound is an examination with a device that allows parents and doctors to see an unborn child. There's not much baby to see right now, but an early ultrasound can give the doctor advance warnings about any problems that could arise, and It can also help more accurately pinpoint her due date."

Frowning, Robin wrinkles his forehead. "It's actually possible to see an unborn child?"

"Well, to see an image of one, yes."

He shakes his head in wonder. "It won't hurt her; will it?"

Still resting comfortably against his side, Regina picks at her salad as she shakes her head. "No, it's not invasive. It won't hurt the baby or Zelena."

"Okay." He shakes his head. "Enough baby talk. We can do more of that the day after tomorrow. What else did you do this morning?"

"Just boring mayor stuff. Return phone calls. Buy a new mailbox to replace the one Henry ran over with David's truck. I should send David the bill. I still can't imagine what he was thinking; letting Henry drive. He's barely 13!"

I think they were just trying to have some fun. If a mailbox was the only thing he hit, it might have been worth it; especially if he learned anything from the experience."

Still mildly irritated by the situation, Regina changes the subject. "I tracked down the keys for that old apple barn if you want to go take a look this afternoon."

Robin raises a curious eyebrow. "Already?"

"Yeah. I've always wanted a legitimate excuse to have that old thing renovated. Now, I might have one. Maybe. If you like it."

OK, we'll go look. We should stop by the camp and pick up a Roland first though. He went fishing this morning with Little John."

She nods quietly; finishing up her lunch.

"I think maybe I got a job this morning too. But I don't think it's going to be enough. Probably only part-time."

Regina sits up straight and studies his face. "You did? Already?"

He shrugs. I only did what you suggested. I went to the hardware store this morning and asked Doc if he needed some help from a locksmith. He said we could give it a trial run. Something tells me, though, that part-time work as a locksmith isn't going to pay for a house. Especially not one in need of renovation. I'll get started with Doc and keep looking. See what else I can come up with."

"I don't know how you feel about this, but it's something you already know how to do, and this town could use a decent tavern. Right now, our options are limited to second rate scotch at Granny's, or sheer bedlam over at the Rabbit Hole. Can you see me in that place?"

"Sure!" he teases; his blue eyes twinkling with mirth. "All you need is some leather, a pair of stilettos, and one of those bizarre-looking studded dog collars. You'll fit right in."

She gives him a hard nudge with her shoulder. I've got the stilettos, and the leather. As for the dog collar - my mother just rolled over in her casket!"

"No dog collar, then?" He queries with mock seriousness and Regina knows all the way down to her soul that he has absolutely no interest in seeing such a thing around her neck.

She shrugs. "Sorry, not unless you actually want Cora to haunt you."

Chuckling, he finishes his last bite of lunch before declaring, "No thanks. I'll pass."

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Shared Secrets**

* * *

With one small hand tucked safely in his father's and the other in Regina's, Roland chatters happily about fishing with Little John as they walk. Beyond the sidewalks of Main Street their feet find the lush green trail that will lead them into the woods surrounding Storybrooke. In no great hurry to reach their destination, the couple walks at a comfortable pace enjoying the mild afternoon as the leaves rustle in the treetops overhead and dry twigs crunch underfoot. To aid in the boy's fun, each time he lifts both of his feet off the ground, Robin and Regina gently swing him by the arms; each of them content to let him play in route to their destination.

"We caught some big ones. Enough for all Little John's kids, and us too. Regina, can you cook us fish for dinner?"

Robin winks at her as she smiles patiently. "Roland, I think you'll enjoy dinner considerably more if I let your dad prepare the fish. But, He can use my kitchen if he wants to."

Roland passes a look of utter confusion between the two adults and shakes his head adamantly; his wavy curls fluttering in the light breeze. "Regina, we can't make a fire in your kitchen! You don't have a fireplace in there. Your pretty house would burn."

Comprehension of the boy's misunderstanding dawns immediately and she chuckles softly. "I was suggesting your dad might learn to use the stove as opposed to cooking over an open flame. If he hasn't figured it out already, I can at least help him with that much, but you shouldn't rely on me to cook fish without intense supervision. Maybe between the two of us we could manage it without disaster striking."

Roland continues to look up at her; still scowling with confusion. "You cook good Regina." He lifts his feet and smiles happily when the grownups swing him by his arms as if on cue. "You make yummy apple turnovers and lasagna too. Yours tastes better than Granny's does… Only, don't tell her that. It might make her sad. She likes feeding people."

Regina stops walking and goes down on her knees before the boy, pulling him into a gentle hug. "I won't say a word. It'll be our secret. And I'm glad that you like my lasagna and apple turnovers, but you should know that's about the extent of my culinary skills. I learned how to make those dishes because they are two of my favorites. Beyond that, I'm not much of a chef. Your dad is much more experienced in that particular area Roland."

"Does that mean you don't like to eat fish?"

"No, I like fish. Just not enough to bother learning how to cook it myself." She smiles when a distant memory seeps into her consciousness. "I've nearly burned my house down to the ground on more than one occasion just learning to cook the few things I do. To me, fish are not worth all that drama. They are scaly, and slippery. They smell bad, and I don't know how to catch them anyway. When I want fish, I go see Granny. You're right. She likes to feed people, and she's good at it too."

Roland eyes his friend with utter astonishment. "You don't know how to catch fish? I thought everybody knew how to do that. It's not hard." He offers eagerly, "I could show you."

"I bet you could sweet boy. I grew up in a very different way than you are Roland. When I was your age, I lived in a great big fancy palace with lots of servants. They prepared all my meals and washed and mended all my clothes. Anything I wanted or needed - well, it was either given to me, or done for me. I never had to prepare my own dinner, much less catch, or clean it. I wasn't taught how to do things like that. I wasn't even supposed to know how to do things like that. When I came here to Storybrooke, I had to learn much more than just all the things that are different about this world. I had to learn how to do everything for myself without servants or lady's maids. For a while, I was kind of lost. I literally didn't know what to do with myself."

Roland looks to his father for confirmation of all she says and Robin nods quietly.

"Gosh, I bet that was scary. You must really wanna go back home to the Enchanted Forest."

Regina wobbles her head side to side in an indecisive fashion. "Sometimes I do want to go back, yes, but I'm glad that I figured out how to survive here. I like most of the changes I've made. I'm happier here in Storybrooke than I ever was in the Enchanted Forest. The only way that I will ever go back to stay is if I get to take everyone I love with me. Unless that becomes possible, I'd rather focus on being happy right here where I'm at."

"You don't miss your big fancy palace?"

"I used to miss it very badly. Even now, every once in a while, I still miss it a little bit, but I've got a very nice place here…" Regina pauses to offer him a wide-eyed playful smile. "And it's not nearly as big, cold, or drafty. The only thing opulent drafty old palaces are good for is playing hide and seek when you're hoping to evade the rigid old queen."

Roland giggles and objects, "Regina, you are the queen!"

"Not when I was your age. Back then, I was just a bored and lonely little princess forced to take lessons that I had absolutely no interest in; and my mother, the queen, was always scolding me. Saying things like, sit there like a little lady. Do not get dirty, stand up straight, don't slouch, do not scuff your shoes, and if you ruin that dress, you won't be allowed out of doors for a fortnight. Every time my maids turned their backs, I would sneak away quickly and quietly in search of a place to play or hide; or both. I found every hiding place in that old palace. The only person who could ever find me was my dad. Mother would stomp around looking for me until she grew tired of the search, then she would call loudly for Daddy demanding in an exasperated tone of voice, 'Henry, will you please find your daughter!' He would wait for her to leave, and only then would he seek me out and help clean up whatever mess I had made of myself." Regina gets to her feet and they resume their walk. "Daddy never gave away my secret hiding spots."

Again, Roland lifts his feet and Robin and Regina oblige the boy with the same gentle swinging motion. "I remember, we lived in an old castle for a little while. Daddy said it was 'bandoned, so it was okay if we moved in. It had lots of good hiding places.

"Ahh yes, Rumpelstiltskin's old place."

"You've been there?"

"Many, many times. I remember it well, though not as fondly as you seem to."

"Maybe you found some of the same hiding places as me."

"I'm afraid not Roland. By the time I made my way to his place, hide and seek didn't hold much interest for me, anymore."

"Then why did you go there?"

"He taught me magic."

Roland wrinkles his nose as he thinks something over. Rumpelstiltskin is Mr. Gold; right?"

"He is, yes."

"And he's Henry's grandpa?"

"One of them, yes."

"Does he teach Henry magic too?

Regina chuckles wryly. "Not if he knows what's good for him."

"Why is learning magic with him bad?"

"Who says it's bad?"

"Your face does."

"My face does?"

Roland giggles. "Yep, it sure does."

Regina runs her fingers through the boy's hair affectionately and offers his father a curious smile.

In return, Robin offers her a wide-eyed shrug. "The lad knows what he sees."

"Let's just say that learning magic with his guidance didn't do me any favors Roland."

When he offers her another curious expression, Regina says patiently and honestly, "Would you mind if we change the subject. That isn't something I enjoy talking about."

Roland shrugs and eagerly volunteers a new topic without complaint. "Where are we going anyway?"

"We're going to have a look at an old apple barn."

"Does it have lots of apples in it?"

"Not anymore, but it used to."

"Okay, then why are we going there?"

Robin pauses long enough to lift his son into his arms. "Because if we like it, and if it can be fixed up nicely enough, we might live in it."

Roland passes a look of wonder between the two adults as his face lights up. "We're going to live in a barn?"

"Maybe. It'll be bigger than our tent."

Regina laughs. "A lot bigger! There are three stories."

Robin raises a surprised eyebrow. "What on earth do we need with three stories!"

Regina shrugs with a mysterious smile. "Well, the two of you certainly don't need three stories, but if your family ever grows and becomes more than just a twosome… You might find yourself in need of all that extra space. You can still veto it if you don't like it. But, we should still go look at it. Roland might find some new hiding places."

Suddenly eager for a new adventure, Roland cheers, "Come on Daddy! Hurry up, let's go. Walk faster!"

* * *

 **Chapter 12: The Apple Barn**

* * *

"Whoa! It's so big. It's gi-normous! Look at it Daddy. Look!" Roland points in undeniable awe at a multi-story structure with its badly peeling, and weather-beaten paint job.

Robin smiles in response to his son's infectious excitement. "I see it, my boy. I see."

Although the old apple barn once teemed with the hectic activity of busy workers who carved out a living for themselves as they went about their jobs, the huge old octagonal-shaped building now stands empty, seemingly devoid of all life; at least from the outside anyway.

When they had reached the end of Main Street, they had set out on the path that would eventually take them to the old toll bridge with its graffiti painted sign that effectively renamed it the troll bridge in honor of the Enchanted Forest dwellers; whom most of the denizens of this world thought only to be the stuff of childhood fairy tales. However, about a ¼ mile before reaching the bridge, Regina had veered left leading them onto a badly washed out gravel path that Robin had noticed before but had not yet traveled.

When the trio reached their destination, he was pleased to find that it was, as promised, close to town, yet far enough off the beaten path to accomplish two things. First, it would allow him to remain close to the forest, the wonders of nature, and his band of merry men. Second, most of the people who generally preferred to stay within the town limits weren't likely to be enticed to walk this far to visit; even if the walk was a pleasant one; that is, if the weather was obliging.

At the end of their walk though, he eyes the building that his son is looking at with innocent wonder with his own hopeful kind of skepticism. Regina had said it was old. What she hadn't said, was that it would appear to be something better suited for the Victorian era; which of course, shouldn't even be possible. To the best of his knowledge, the entire town, and everything in it, was entirely her creation. It hadn't been here for any longer than she had. Nevertheless, if he hadn't known better, he would have thought that this place was built long before any machinery could have been used for cider presses. This place could well have been built before such machinery even existed; and then probably renovated a century later to accommodate such machinery.

Although he finds his son's enthusiasm highly contagious, while Roland continues to stare in absolute wonder, Robin smiles and holds his own response firmly in place until a more practical assessment can be made. Approaching the ancient barn slowly, he uses one booted foot to kick soundly against the portion of the stone foundation that is visible above ground. When nothing crumbles, when dust doesn't even stir, he turns to the woman beside him.

"What is that? fieldstone? The chimney made of the same material would have taken months to construct - under non-magical circumstances."

She chuckles quietly. "There are two more; one on the Eastern facing side, and one in the back where a kitchen could easily go. As for the material, I don't know. I'm the mayor, not the town contractor or building inspector. Whatever it is, it seems solid. This place has been here since the beginning. A few years back there was a fire. Some of the building had to be repaired, even torn out and replaced. The foundation was undisturbed. I'm sure the blueprints are part of the town records, if you want to look of them."

"Wasn't the entire town created according to your own desires?"

"Regina shakes her head. "No, all I did was cast the curse. I didn't create, or perhaps a better word would be, engineer it. Choices made about nearly everything you see in Storybrooke were already built into the curse. Very little of it was my own design."

"Okay, I guess I didn't know that. Maybe I just assumed. Who did engineer it?"

She starts to answer, then reconsiders and shrugs. "Could've been Gold… or he could have gotten it from someone else. To tell the truth, I really don't know, but I got it from him."

"Sounds as though all your troubles started with him."

Regina shakes her head and shrugs again. "My troubles started with Cora Mills, on the very day I was born, if not before. Rumpelstiltskin was really nothing more than an escalation where my troubles were concerned. However, I can only legitimately blame them on Mother up to a point. Somewhere along the way I have to assume responsibility for them myself. Don't go looking for someone else to blame, Robin. I did this. No one forced my hand. I'm responsible. I may have been set on this path as a child and, at that point, the choices were not my own. However, as an adult, I chose to remain on the path that led me to cast that curse and ultimately brought me here. I don't know how many times Daddy tried to explain my own culpability to me. I wouldn't listen. I can't say I don't regret it. I do, but I wouldn't change it either. If I did, I wouldn't have Henry… or you… or Roland." She pauses to run her fingers through the boy's hair affectionately and he smiles up at her; either too young to understand the seriousness of the conversation, or too devoted to her to be disturbed by mention of her former deeds. "The good and bad… It's all jumbled up together, Robin. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to find a way to separate them."

He takes her hand in his, lacing their fingers together warmly. "That's everybody, Regina. Life is about taking the bitter with the sweet. Most people tend to pitch camp somewhere near the middle ground where things usually remain on a fairly even keel; usually not unbelievably great, but also not terribly bad. The only difference with you is that the middle ground would bore you out of your mind. You gravitate toward the extreme ends…" He chuckles quietly. "Both of them. I'm rather certain most people will call that dangerous. Me, I don't know how you manage it, but I find the fact that you do, both entertaining, and highly impressive."

She smiles mysteriously and says quietly. "I think you just like danger, Mr. Locksley. Drawn to it the way a half-crazed moth is drawn to a flame and finds itself trapped inside a hurricane lamp and beating its wings futility against the glass - which is rare for someone with your good sense."

"Maybe I just don't like the cold." He winks. "it's warm next to the flame."

"Good way to get your wings singed."

"I'm not convinced there's any cause for alarm. I think it's a symbiotic relationship. The flame may have the ability to reduce me to ash, but I'm confident she won't. She's fiercely independent. So, she may not always need me, but she seems to want me."

She squeezes his hand. "The flame needs you more than you know, and she definitely wants you, but we should discuss that later. Somebody's getting restless." She nods to the boy looking up at them with slightly puzzled and impatient eyes.

Taking her heavy ring of old iron keys from the pocket of her jacket, Regina quickly sorts through them and then dangles them before Roland, holding them out and placing the needed key gently in his outstretched hand when he reaches for it eagerly. "Who's ready to go inside?"

He giggles happily as he runs for the tall, heavy, oak door where he stands on tiptoe trying with young uncoordinated hands, to fit the old-fashioned key into a lock several inches above his head.

Hand in hand, Regina and Robin follow, only letting go of one another when Regina stoops to lift Roland into her arms; offering him a much-needed boost. She smiles and kisses his cheek. "There, try again."

The old lock fights against the key and Roland grimaces; screwing up his young face with the effort. "It's stuck!" He declares, gripping the key with both hands and tries again with all his tiny might.

"Would you like some help?" Regina offers quietly.

Roland shakes his head with determination and keeps trying. After several long seconds, during which Regina and Robin are sharing patient smiles over the top of the boy's head, Roland releases the key. Groaning in frustration, he kicks the heavy oak door with a small but emphatic foot and shouts, "Open says me!"

Regina lifts her face toward the treetops and laughs merrily. "Robin, I think your son is confused. He thinks he's Ali Baba!"

Robin chuckles quietly as he gently nudges the two of them aside. Taking the key in hand, he tries to help and quickly finds that even he can't get the lock to budge as his son asks, "Ali who?"

"Ali Baba… I take it you haven't heard the story of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves yet? The password is Open Sesame; not open says me."

Roland stares at Regina with a look that is equal parts wonder and confusion. "Regina, I'm not confused. I never heard of that story, but there isn't 40 of us merry men. I'm not Ali who's his name. I'm Roland of Locksley and Sherwood Forest… and I like my password better!" He bobs his chin for emphasis, as if to say, "So there!"

Still laughing, Regina offers the boy a quick squeeze of affection and declares happily, "Well alright then! I stand corrected. You know precisely who you are young sir. Step aside men. The pins and tumblers in that old lock probably rusted into immobility a long time ago. It's going to take more than just brute force to gain entry here."

Robin steps back to her side and Roland giggles as Regina says playfully, "Here, you hold this." and gently deposits his son in his arms.

While Roland squirms in his father's arms turning himself about so he can see what Regina is up to, she takes Robin's free hand and tugs gently bringing both along with her as she steps back further still; putting a greater distance between the three of them and the stubborn door. Concentrating, she lets go of Robin's hand and inhales deeply before releasing the breath slowly and lifting her right hand. She smiles at Roland's eager face as faint traces of glowing power spark to life, emanating from her palm only briefly before she reconsiders, and the pale purple light seen there, flickers and extinguishes itself before she flexes the fingers of her hand as if something doesn't feel quite right.

Roland scowls. "What's wrong with your magic, Regina?"

With her left hand, she pats his arm affectionately and then gently tugs them back an extra two steps just to be on the safe side. "I'm never going to get better at using light magic if I don't practice. It's a simple lock. Shouldn't be too difficult to deal with. No time like the present."

She inhales deeply once more, momentarily closing her eyes to help her shut out all external distractions. Sounds of the world around her fade into the background as the sound of her own heartbeat rises in her ears. She listens intently to her heart's natural two-part rhythm as well as its slightly elevated tempo. She's not so much nervous, as she is simply uncomfortable; which isn't idea. She breathes deeply again willing herself to let go of the mild, yet annoying, tension that doesn't completely leave her until she feels a small but faithful hand find its way to hers. Roland squeezes gently, offering her his own kind of innocent reassurance and within seconds pure white magical light glows; flickering and bouncing gently against the palm of her outstretched right hand. Only when she focuses intently on the boy beside her, and his obvious affection for her, does she feel the full strength of the power welling within her. Once more, she tunes in to the sound of her own heart 's rhythm. She opens her eyes, and between the two pulsations that make up a single heartbeat she whispers, "Say it again, Roland." And when the boy instinctively and happily exclaims, "Open says me." she releases a single dazzling blast that does a great deal more than simply disengage the lock. In fact, the entire, arcane looking, deadbolt simply vanishes from sight.

A thick cloud of dust rises when the 30-foot-tall, solid oak door swings open on its badly rusted hinges and crashes loudly against the wall it's attached to. Both Robin and Regina step back reflexively, turning toward one another, shielding Roland between them on instinct as stale air rushes out to greet them.

As the dust begins to clear, Roland giggles excitedly at the sight of the wide-open door and Regina fans the air around him, and brushes dust from his face. "Sorry about that guys. That light stuff is potent. I guess a little goes a long way. All I meant to do was unlock it. Not send it crashing in with a rumble of thunder." She flexes her fingers again in response to a slight tingling sensation in her hand. "I'll work on getting control over it."

Roland shrugs wholly undaunted by her display of raw untamed power. "It worked." He declares with pluck.

Robin chuckles quietly and musses his son's hair. "Not only did it work my boy, but she has certainly announced our presence to any of the forest creatures who might've taken up residence in this place during its long vacancy."

Eager to go inside and explore, Roland says merrily, "Down please!" He frowns when both adults shake their heads simultaneously.

"Not yet." Regina says gently as she steps in through the open door; leading the way. "You stay with your dad until after we've had a chance to check the place out. I want to make sure everything is in sound condition before we give you free reign. I don't want you wandering around and falling through rotten floorboards."

Roland squints. "How can I fall through the floor if the barn is sitting on the ground?"

Regina smiles over her shoulder as she walks into the center of the barn's ground floor and turns a slow circle observing all the old, but reasonably well-preserved hardwood, expansive windows, and open floor space as she goes. "There's not much danger of that happening on the ground floor, Roland. But, the third floor…" She lifts her chin, staring up at the ceiling far overhead. "If you fall from up there…" She pauses again to point as she talks. "In some places, it'll be a 70 - foot drop to the floor below. I know you want to explore this place, and that's okay. Just let your dad and I make sure it's safe for you first."

When Robin walks into the center of the room with his son still safely in his arms, he looks around; taking in the sight of what might easily be a home's great room in much the same fashion as his girlfriend, before coming to a stop at her side. He smiles, obviously enjoying his son's sense of delight as Roland tilts his head back staring up at the ceiling far overhead with its heavy cedar rafters supported by ominous looking iron brackets.

The boy shrugs. Without a trace of fear in his voice, he says, "I don't think I'll fall. But even if I do, you can fix it, Regina."

Regina shakes her head adamantly. "I certainly appreciate your vote of confidence Roland, but I'm not a doctor. I'm a mother, a mayor, a queen, and there are those who would be tempted to call me a witch because of my magic. While it's true that I can fix bumps and bruises and the occasional broken bone, I'm not about to magically take on a crushed skull, because that is almost certainly what will happen to you if you fall from way up there - or if something else falls on you. I'm good Roland, but there are limits to my magic. It's not to be taken for granted or deliberately used as your personal safety net. So, as excited as I know you are, you're just going to have to wait until you get the all clear. Dad and I will be quick; promise. If we decide it's safe, once we do, you'll be set free."

The boy grimaces but does not complain. He watches with eager eyes; taking in all there is to be seen from the security of his father's arms as Regina slowly begins to walk the ground floor with Robin at her side.

Most of the first floor is one large room. So large in fact that it's nearly cavernous, with a smaller room bumped out of the back wall that, despite its smaller size, is still large enough to accommodate a spacious comfortable kitchen.

When they reach the smaller room, Robin is quiet for several long seconds before saying, "You said they once drove apples in here by the truckload. I'm guessing that's the reason for those two sets of wide doors at opposite ends of this room."

She nods. "First they came in by horse drawn wagon. Then later, trucks. It makes sense that, in both cases, they would need to be able to come in and go back out again easily. A straight shot, without the need for backing up or turning around. If you decide you want the place, those doors to be removed, closed in."

It's his turn to nod. "The fireplace is enormous… Just as big as the one in the other room."

"Yes. At some point commercial stove tops and ovens were brought in and then later taken out again when the place was closed down and abandoned. Before the ovens were here, the cider was made in large vats in the fireplaces."

"But the town's been here for less than 32 years? According to what I've read in the library, you're talking about advancements that would have taken place over centuries; not decades."

"Yes, but for all I know the curse that brought the town here was created centuries ago. Whether he acquired the curse, or engineered it himself, don't forget Rumpelstiltskin is at least a couple of centuries old. There's no way of knowing how many hands the curse has passed through or how many times that it has been re-engineered, updated, or altered before it finally made its way to me. Anyone who even considered using it would have made alterations to it. Added a few of their own personal touches. I did. No doubt, it has grown and evolved in direct proportion to the magical capabilities of each practitioner who has possessed it. The town records bear testament to that fact. The way they read… well, it's as if the town has been here for a lot longer than it actually has. The town has a history that predates its arrival here in this realm."

Robin raises a curious eyebrow. "it's not my imagination then. The reason that dilapidated outbuilding beside the barn looks like a condemned carriage house from this world's 17th century is because that's precisely what it is."

"That wouldn't surprise me in the least. It does look like a dilapidated old carriage house. You could close it in. I can't picture you having much need for a newly refurbished carriage house. Turn it into a garage, a woodworking shed, or make it into a separate apartment or guest house… If one of the merry men ever needs a place to stay, you could rent it out."

He tilts his head to the side and gives her words due consideration as he follows her to the first-floor landing where she begins to make her way up a meandering staircase that stands gracefully in the center of the eight-sided building; rising slowly as if no one who dares tread here should ever be in a hurry to ascend.

Halfway between the first-floor landing and second, Roland looks straight up and finds himself mesmerized not only by the spiral layout of the staircase but also by the presence of an elaborate glass design in the ceiling. "It just goes round and round all the way to the top." He grins. "And, there's a hole in the roof. Look up Daddy. You can see the leaves on the trees."

Regina chuckles quietly. "That hole in the roof is called a skylight. If let's in all kinds of natural light; be it sunlight, moonlight or starlight, Roland. I bet it's beautiful on a spring morning, or an autumn night in October when the stars are bright, and the air is crisp. I bet you could stand right here and watch the snowflakes swirl in the moonlight on Christmas Eve."

Roland warm dark eyes begin to sparkle brilliantly. "I bet that would be like living in a giant snowball. One just like the blue fairy has."

Regina squints with uncertainty. "The blue fairy has a giant snowball?"

Roland nods and then shakes his head. "Yeah, well, no. Hers is little. But I still have to hold it with both hands. It gots fake snow in it. She let me shake it once. I made it snow. It has a church in it with a bell tower instead of a barn, but It was really pretty. If we lived here, it'd be like living in a great big one."

Regina nods. "Ahh… I see. You mean a snow globe; not a snowball."

"Yeah. That's right! I mixed up the words."

"Well, that's okay. Bet you won't mix them up anymore."

Roland shakes his head when she smiles encouragement.

"I think there are a few more skylights up here in the rooms on the second floor. I know there's one in the room that would make a nice master bedroom. There's a third fireplace in there too. I think a few of the other rooms have smaller skylights as well."

Once on the second floor, the adults are mindful of where they step as they wander from one empty room to the next for only brief inspections. When they come to the room Regina suggests might make a suitable master bedroom, Robin smiles; half listening when she suggests that the room next door would be ideal for a private bath. She's busy talking about decorating, and room décor while he's more focused on the things they might do, the events that might take place in such a home. He's unaware that they are really on the same wavelength until she steps up close, smiles, drapes an arm around his waist and offers him a sweet kiss that hints at more warmth than they can currently enjoy.

When they make their way back around to the staircase and the last of the empty rooms on the second floor, Roland's small face lights up and he announces from his perch on his father's shoulder, "This is my room!"

Robin lowers the boy's feet to the floor and kneels before him. "Oh, it is now; is it?"

"Yep, uh huh, sure is! I'm gonna put my fishing pole over there, on that shelf." He points to the only shelf in the room and then walks to the spot directly under the small skylight and announces with complete certainty. "I'm gonna put my sleeping bag right here Daddy, so I can watch for shooting stars at night time."

"If you're going to have a whole room all to yourself, don't you think we could put you an actual bed in here Roland? You know, instead of just a sleeping bag?" Regina smiles brightly.

The small boy gives the question heavy consideration. "Wwwwellll, okay Regina. But don't make it too soft, and not too big either. Maybe I can have one sort of like the one Henry has in his room at your house."

Regina nods. "That shouldn't be too hard to accomplish. No, I don't think that will be a problem at all."

Robin pats the boy on the back gently. "Okay my boy, go play. You can explore now. But you stay on this floor or the one below. Don't go upstairs to the third floor until Regina and I have finished looking around. Let us know if you go outside."

Off like a shot, free to go investigate without intense adult supervision, Roland calls out happily and loudly, "Okay Daddy. I won't leave without you."

Shaking his head, Robin rises to his feet and reaches for his favorite lady; who instantly obliges him by stepping close and wrapping her arms around him once more. They listen to the sound of Roland's small feet pounding the floors as he trots away in search of adventure.

Regina chuckles quietly. "You're welcome to look at other houses around Storybrooke, of course, but I'm afraid if you do, Roland might put himself up for adoption."

Robin laughs and kisses her temple. "I fear you may be right, Mi'lady. He'll really loves this place, and I admit, the reasons why aren't lost on me, but I see this taking lots of time, and lots of money; and come winter, this big old place is going to be very hard to keep warm."

"So, check other places; even if Roland disapproves. If you come back to this one, I'll find you the blueprints. Talk to Doc, your new employer over at the hardware store. He can help you with building code, and talk with you about putting in proper insulation, along with central air and heat. Talk to the merry men, enlist help from any who are willing, and have experience with construction. I can hire you guys to fix this old place up. It would be good for the town. Increase property values… Blah blah blah. Then when you're done, you can buy it. Maybe by then, you'll have found more permanent employment. If necessary, you can go to the bank, and ask for a mortgage. Although, I do foresee you're having a problem if that's necessary. Credit wise, you'll be considered a bad investment. You'll probably need a co-signer, but I'm confident we can work something out. I know you've got this independent streak that tells you that you should do this all by yourself, without help from me, and if you really want to do it that way, you'll find a way. Just promise me you won't turn to Gold for assistance. He swindles people. I don't want to see you wind up under his thumb. If that happens, I'll have to hurt him… And that would just be… bad." She smiles wickedly.

He takes her face in both his hands and kisses her lips. "I promise. Try not to look so happy at the prospect, will you my love. If you and Gold decide to take a go at each other, the whole town is likely to implode."

"Which is the only reason we haven't done it already. C'mon, I don't think there's much more up there to see right now, but we should inspect the third floor before Roland gets tired of waiting on us and decides to swing from the rafters."

While they listen to Roland tromp around noisily on the two lower floors, they make their way to the third and, being careful to avoid obvious dry rot in certain places, they inspect the upper rooms quickly finding them in the same dusty, lonely, condition as the rest of the barn.

Regina jumps momentarily startled when a previously unseen crow swoops down from the rafters overhead; agitated and screeching because her peace and quiet has been disturbed by their presence. It doesn't take long for them to find a broken window pane and guess that is how the bird came to take up residence indoors.

Satisfied that their initial inspection is complete, they head for the third-floor landing hand in hand arriving there just in time to see Roland halfway up the second flight and waiting patiently; perched in the center of a step and gazing up at the skylight in the center of the roof again. The boy must recognize the sound of his father's footsteps, because without making eye contact, he says, "Hi Daddy. Can I go up there now?"

Robin sits down on the step beside his son and playfully nudges him with his thigh, silently telling the boy to scoot over and make room. Giggling, Roland obliges as Robin says, "Better not go up there yet. There's dry rot. That means the wood is bad in some places. There's even a couple of big holes up there already. If we decide to live here, we'll have to fix 'em. You up for helping me do that?"

"Sure, I will! You bet." Roland nods with enthusiasm. "You guys better come down too. Your bigger and heavier than me. You guys better not fall 'cause I need your help with something."

Carefully descending the steps above, Regina comes into view. "We're not going to fall. We are on our way down. What do you need help with?"

Roland flashes a brilliant smile that lights up his inquisitive eyes. "I found some baby animals. I think they need help."

The guarded note that seeps into Regina's voice belies her smile. "What kind of baby animals."

Roland jumps up from his seat, tugging on his father's hand as he goes. "Come on. I'll show you, but you have to be quiet. You don't want to scare the babies."

Being surprisingly stealthy for someone of his tender years, Roland leads the adults back to the smaller room on the ground floor and cautiously comes to his knees on the floor in front of an antique oven with its door hanging open on broken hinges. "See, look in there, Daddy." He points. "They're babies."

Robin peers into the oven, and then calmly picks his son up and moves him a little further back from the open door. "Yes, they're babies. Baby raccoons. You didn't touch them, did you?"

Roland shakes his head emphatically. "I remembered Daddy. You told me don't touch baby animals, 'cause if I make them smell like me, the mama might not feed them anymore. I don't want them to starve."

Robin smiles at his son as Regina stoops and peers into the oven, looking at the tiny squirming critters whose eyes aren't even open yet, from her safe place behind the two men. "That's good son." Robin encourages in a whisper. "Don't bother them, it's not safe." He gently gives a lecture he's given before. "They might be sick, even if they're not, their mum is probably somewhere nearby and if she finds us messing about with her young, she's not going to be at all happy with us." He looks around for, and easily spots tracks made by a larger animal on the dusty floor. "She'll be back for them. Let's leave them the way we found them. One day later this week, I'll bring some traps. We'll catch them and then set them free in the forest, so they can find a new home. There's a crow, upstairs too. I need to make sure she doesn't have a nest full of little ones up there somewhere before I shoo her away. C'mon, let's go." Quietly and carefully." He rises lithely to his feet. Offering one hand to his son and one to Regina, he leads them away on calm but swift feet.

Once outside again, Roland waits quietly until the door is closed and until Regina magically installs a new lock before asking, "If we're leaving now, can we go get some ice cream?"

Both adults chuckle in response to the question but neither has time to answer before Ruby joins them at a run. "Madame Mayor! Thank goodness I found you. Granny send me to track you down. We've got a problem!"

There's a weighted momentary pause as Regina waits for her to continue. When she doesn't do so immediately, Regina prods, "Well? You found me, so obviously you're nose still works. Here I am, Scruffy. What's the problem?"

Ruby cringes; not at the less than friendly moniker, but because she fears that the messenger is about to be shot - or the magical equivalent thereof. "I'm so sorry… but…"

With her hands on her hips, Regina resists the urge to roll her eyes. "Ruby! Skip the apology! If it's so important that you couldn't wait for me to be back in my office, and you had to come hunt me down - just tell me what demented magical being is on the loose in Storybrooke this time!"

Ruby winces and takes an involuntary step backwards as she says quietly, "Your sister. She's out."

Regina squints; shaking her head. "Zelena? You're saying she's out of her cell?"

Ruby nods; wishing she was anywhere but where she is.

"Well, who the hell let her out!"

"Umm... well see, she let herself out. She escaped."

"And, just how exactly, in the name of all that is unholy, did she manage that?" Regina hisses ominously.

Ruby looks pointedly at Roland. "I really don't think you want me to answer that question in front of the little guy."

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Exit Strategy Gone to Hell**

* * *

With her freedom regained, Zelena steps down Main Street with the shadow of something malignant present in her eyes and a renewed sense of resentful purpose in her stride. She breathes deeply, taking a kind of tepid enjoyment from the fresh air of Storybrooke as opposed to the canned stale air that had been available to her while confined in her cell beneath the hospital. Freedom is better than confinement and isolation, even in this awful place. But, it's time to move forward, time to temporarily escape to a place where she can reassess her plans and form a new strategy; something she knows Regina won't make easy to accomplish. However, her sister will still pay eventually. Yes, she will! One way or another! And, no matter what, no one is taking her baby! It doesn't matter who the little one's father might be. No one is taking her baby! Not Regina, not Robin… Not anyone! She doesn't want to, but she'll just have to lay low until after her wicked little munchkin is born.

Zelena glowers at the inconvenience of it all as she rubs her belly in a show of narcissistic affection. Regina, damn her! This is all her fault. She's supposed to be miserable. She supposed to be devastatingly heartbroken. She's supposed to be in unrelenting agony. She, most certainly, is not supposed to be happily reunited with her forest dwelling, annoyingly virtuous, never-miss-a-single-shot, archer and his infuriatingly wholesome little brat. It's not fair. Somehow, despite her best efforts to the contrary, her sister always manages to come out on top. It's not bloody fair!

Zelena tenderly massages her still tingling wrist… The one she has only just magically reattached after having removed it, much to the horror of the lackluster janitor\town drunk, Leroy. She smiles with supremely wicked self-satisfaction. Her freedom had come at a cost - one she didn't mind paying in the least.

When the day nurse had brought in her lunch tray, piled high with yet another assortment of depressingly health-conscious morsels when all she really wanted was a plateful of greasy onion rings, she had decided to strike. If she couldn't do it magically, then she'd just have to get her hands dirty - and she had. The sour-faced nurse, if she hadn't already bled to death, was probably on her way into surgery. The woman was an idiot! She actually thought it safe to enter the cell of the Wicked Witch of the West with an ink pen clipped to the breast pocket of her white uniform. For that kind of stupidity, she deserved what she had gotten. The writing instrument had made for a dull blunt weapon of opportunity, but it was a weapon nonetheless. The last time the nurse was seen by Zelena, it had been protruding from the side of her neck while copious amounts of blood oozed slowly out onto the floor beneath her; the crimson flow partially staunched and occluded by the very apparatus that had made the unexpected wound.

Finally, free of her cell, Zelena had fled to the only other place available to her in the hospital's basement. The morgue. There she had found Leroy doing an unimpressive job of mopping the floor. She also found a gruesome, yet handy, little tool known as a Striker saw; a handheld device with a small yet powerful oscillating blade capable of slicing through bone as if it were little more than a frozen slab of butter. The bleary eyed, not to mention, horrified Leroy watched, paralyzed by shock, as she burst in through the swinging double doors and set about freeing herself from the single shackle that held her magic prisoner, and therefore, just out of her reach. She had considered killing him with just the mere flick of her newly reattached wrist but that would've been too easy; boring even. He wasn't worth the minuscule amount of energy it would take to do it. She simply vanished from the room in a roiling puff of emerald smoke and Leroy remained motionless for a full five seconds before his brain located its connection with his legs and he took off running; leaving the wooden handle of his mop to clatter noisily against the tile floor as he began raising the alert; bellowing like the town crier. "She's out! Run for your lives! Somebody, call the mayor! She's out!"

Zelena's first stop, after reacquiring her use of magic, is Regina's house.

She is royally irritated, yet not terribly surprised, when she finds no one at home. Maybe her sister does more than simply scare people into submission. Could it be possible that the mayor actually works? Doubting there's much accuracy in the thought, Zelena sets out on foot; seething with every step. The town hall is only a few blocks away. To get there, she must pass Granny's diner, and she pays the eatery little attention until, with her peripheral vision, she catches sight of someone in the window… She stops; turning to stare… Someone useful. She changes direction, altering her immediate plans only slightly, and seconds later the bell over the front door of the diner tinkles softly; signifying her arrival.

Diner patrons freeze mid-action. Coffee cups and glasses of iced tea halfway to their mouths. Dropped silverware clatters softly, either against unimpressive yet serviceable diner flatware, or against the floor. The mouths of several of Storybrooke's citizens fall open in either shock or disbelief as she makes her way to a table currently occupied by two of the town's younger, yet well-known residents.

When his classmate, Paige, suddenly stops talking about their latest homework assignment midsentence and drops one of the french fries he offered to share back into its basket, Henry belatedly notices the unnatural hush that has fallen over the diner and turns in his seat, following his companion's gaze straight to their unexpected visitor.

Startled, Henry tries not to stammer as a weary note fills his voice. "Aunt Zelena?" and although he does not take his eyes away from her face, Henry is silently aware of Granny; quickly wiping her hands on, and then tossing a dish rag over her shoulder before leaving her post behind the counter to slip, almost effortlessly, across the room to stand at the ready. Maybe it's the wolf that lies nearly dormant within, but Henry senses the old woman's deep-rooted courage; and even though he can't help but doubt that her inner strength will provide much of a deterrent for Zelena's envy-fueled wrath, he somehow draws a small measure of that bravery from her, as though she were silently offering to share it with him.

"Zelena…" She interrupts quietly but sternly. "I don't know how you managed to leave your cage, but you've got no business bothering Henry. I don't want any trouble in here."

"Oh, do bugger off; you walking flea infestation! You can take it up with the mayor. Any trouble that's about to occur here is her fault."

The old woman snorts derisively, "Your sister is guilty of much, and her faults are numerous. That being said, I won't hold her accountable for anyone's ill-chosen actions but her own. I strongly advise you to reconsider whatever it is you think you're about to do here. I'm quite certain it won't get you anything you actually want."

Zelena chuckles with manic glee. "We'll just have to see about that; won't we?" She turns her full attention to Henry. "Stand up!"

Henry raises a curious eyebrow. "Mind if I ask why?"

"You're coming with me."

Henry shakes his head and somehow manages to reply with more certainty that he actually feels. "No, I'm not."

Zelena's scowls. "Well, that's disappointing. Somehow, I thought you would be accustomed to doing as you're told. I don't imagine your mother tolerates insubordinate behavior, Henry."

"She doesn't, but she hasn't raised a fool either."

Zelena's shrugs. "Perhaps you need an incentive." With the mere flick of his aunt's wrist, Henry's young friend on the opposite side of the table clasps her throat with her own hands and begins gasping for breath as if her airway has been magically restricted.

Many people in the restaurant gasp in protest; quite a few of them coming to their feet and voicing hostile complaints that range from "Hey stop!" to "You monster! She's just a little girl!"

Henry struggles to swallow his own rising panic. He watches Zelena's mounting anger and senses that the situation is quickly reaching critical mass. Before anyone else is made to suffer, he rises to his feet. To his frightened friend, he says, "Don't worry, Paige. You're gonna be okay." With tightly controlled hostility he says to his aunt, "You win. Let her go. Don't hurt anyone else, I'll come with you."

"See how easy that was." Zelena releases her hold on Paige's throat with an ominous word of caution, "Next time, I won't be so forgiving."

As Henry steps toward the door, Zelena places a possessive arm around his shoulders. Trying to ignore it, he touches Paige's shoulder reassuringly. When the elderly diner owner reaches out for him, taking a protective hold of his hand, he gently pulls free. Reaching into a jacket pocket, he quickly tosses her his cell phone. "I'll be OK. Just call my mom."

"Which one?" Paige whispers nervously; seeking clarification while struggling to catch her breath and massaging her throat.

Issuing an unmistakable taunt, Henry smiles with a quiet unshakable confidence that belies the seriousness of his situation. "Call both of them. Call my grandparents, too."

"Yes, do call them all. It's becoming a bit cliché but tell them they have twenty minutes to meet me beneath the clock tower in front of the library entrance. If you talk to her before I do, tell my sister that if she wants her precious Henry back in one piece, it's going to cost her. I want a way out of torpid little seaside town."

Already punching buttons on the phone's screen, trying to figure out how to access his contacts list as she peers over the rim of her glasses, Granny nods her understanding. Before watching them leave, she warns Zelena with a feral growl, "You leave a single bruise on that boy and I'll have your spleen for a midnight snack. "As for you…" She softens her voice; taking the bite out of her words. "You hang on, Henry. Help is on the way."

He nods but before he can respond verbally, Zelena forces him through the diner's front door. Once they are out on the sidewalk with the door closed behind them; once the immediate threat to Granny's loyal customers has passed, Henry and Zelena both hear the silent restaurant come alive again with the sudden release of pent up nervous energy. Someone cries. Another diner patron swears aloud with noisy relief. Someone declares, "We have to do something, Where's Emma?" While still another patron of the quaint diner complains sardonically, "Oh brother, here we go again."

With a firm, almost painful, grip on his arm Zelena marches her young captive toward the center of Main Street. "I suppose that blatantly obvious threat back there was meant to scare me, was it?" In a singsong voice, she parrots while paraphrasing slightly… "Both your mums… and your grandparents too?" Zelena laughs freely; as if she hasn't a care in the world and, in his mind, Henry can hear her taunting Dorothy. "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too."

For a moment, he stops walking and stands perfectly still. Despite the persuasive pressure she applies to his arm, he remains temporarily rooted in place and studies her with an intense scrutiny that clearly irritates her. It doesn't take him long to decide that there's no point trying to understand her; so, at length, he shrugs. "Lady, if the thought of even one of my mom's coming after you doesn't scare you, then you aren't any smarter than one of you trained monkeys."

* * *

Meanwhile…

A safe distance away from them with Roland holding his hand, Robin watches as the two women talk quietly. Ruby paces nervously in the late afternoon sun as she all but whispers. Regina stands rooted to a single spot; still as a stone. She's gathering facts, assimilating information before she acts. Robin knows that whatever has happened, she won't be still for much longer. Regina thinks on her feet. When confronted with a potentially dangerous situation, others like to discuss, strategize, and plan before moving. Unlike most, Regina thinks best when she's on the move. Outwardly, she appears calm, but he can feel the tension, the urge to act, building within her. Once she starts moving he knows she'll be difficult to keep up with, but for this moment, she stands perfectly still and listens carefully to whatever Ruby is saying. Although he senses her irritation rising, she does not interrupt. She says nothing at first. When Ruby stops, obviously having delivered the worst of the news, Regina takes an involuntary step backward, obviously deeply stunned before reaching numbly for something from Ruby's outstretched hand. Whatever she's holding, she looks it over, and then places it in the right hip pocket of her jacket. She asks a few quiet questions that Ruby answers as quickly and quietly as possible. Robin catches a word here or there, but it's only enough to confirm what he already knows. They're talking about Zelena.

Roland looks on, also watching Regina and Ruby, and then he scowls inquisitively up at his father "Daddy, what's going on?"

Robin glances at his son's upturned face. In the boy's eyes, he can see no real fear yet. Only uncertainty; because even at his young age he senses that things are not right. Robin kneels. "I'm not sure what is going on just now Roland but, whatever it is, this is not the time for you to worry." Pulling the boy close to offer comfort, he smiles and lifts him off the ground.

Knowing that he is safe, yet too smart to be completely fooled, Roland squints at his father. "When will it be time to worry, Daddy?"

Robin splays a hand across his son's small chest. "Not until I say so; okay pal?"

Roland shrugs as he keeps a watchful eye on Regina. "Okay Daddy. You say when."

"That's my boy…"

Before he can say more, Regina returns to them with an urgency in her stride that quite literally frightens Robin. Although she wears an obviously forced smile for Roland's benefit, Robin can see a sickening dread rising in her eyes and he can literally feel, not only the tension in her posture, but also the stranglehold she has on the darkness within.

With no more than a wave to signal her departure, Ruby sets out on foot, leaving them just as quickly as she had joined them. However, before Robin can ask a single question, Regina is intimately close and wrapping her arms around both he and his son. He senses her embrace is not one of affection, but rather one of protection in the single instant before she instructs, "Hug Daddy tight Roland and, no matter what, don't let go!"

Robin feels his son's arms tighten around his neck. He watches the boy nod; doing exactly as he's told just as he feels Regina tighten her own embrace until her grip around his waist is almost uncomfortable.

Before he has time to blink, much less process what is happening, a thick cloud of majestic purple smoke envelops the three of them. In a single flicker of time, the ground falls away from their feet, and Robin feels as though his stomach has plummeted from his body and crashed through the floor of some ancient root cellar, only to be snapped back and instantly returned to him. Their feet find solid earth again, and all traces of purple smoke vanish revealing that he, Regina, and Roland have all three been magically relocated to the inner sanctum of her mayoral office.

Accustomed to this mode of transportation and needing no time to recover or reclaim her bearings, Regina instantly steps away; moving with haste to her desk and opening a drawer. Her gaze flicks upward, only briefly, as Roland cheers, "Again Regina, I wanna go again. That was neat!"

As she pulls a small but ornate wooden display case from the desk drawer, she eyes Roland with patience and his father with the faintest trace of scrutiny. "Roland, you may have thought it was neat, but I don't think your dad enjoyed the experience. He looks a little unsettled. How about you? Does your tummy feel funny?"

Roland cocks his head to one side and squints thoughtfully as he gives the question serious consideration. "Yeah, I guess so. Maybe a little, but who cares. That was cool! I wanna go again!"

The corners of her mouth lift with the slightest trace of a smile; one she can't quite hold back despite the tidal wave of panic and desperation that is rising in her chest and causing her darkened heart to beat faster and harder than it has in years. She waves her hand over the box to disengage the magical lock meant to keep out everyone except for herself. Robin and Roland watch curiously as she extracts the obscure looking Apprentice's Wand and relegates it to an inner coat pocket before she removes the item in her right-hand pocket long enough to wave her left hand over it, obviously casting an additional spell over the cuff that is no longer on Zelena's wrist. As the seriousness of that single fact invades Robin's mind, she places the cuff back in the same pocket before she approaches the two of them once more and lifts Roland from his father's arms. "I'm sorry, sweet boy. Right now, I have to go talk to my sister, but if you wait here with your dad, where it's safe, when I come back, I'll take you anywhere you want to go. Until I get back…" She returns to her desk and allows the boy to slide gently from her arms into the seat of the chair behind her desk. "You get to keep an eye on my office for me. Think you can do that?"

Robin frowns and shakes his head in objection as his son smiles and nods eagerly.

"Regina if she's out and using magic, you cannot go talk to her alone. Not with this vendetta she has against you. I'm going with you."

"No, you aren't!" Regina objects more sharply than she intended to, and then she bends and lightly kisses the crown of Roland's head in an attempt to soothe him when the boy glances up at her, obviously alarmed by the sudden harshness he detects in her voice. Instantly contrite, she wraps her arms around him from behind, offering him an affectionate squeeze before moving quickly away to stand directly in front of Robin. Coming intimately close once again, she lowers her voice until it is for his ears only. "She has my son…"

She smiles sadly as she watches the color drain from his face while emotion rises in his blue eyes. "She has Henry - and you are the only parent Roland has left. You must stay here with him, Robin. I have to go."

Robin shakes his head. "Regina…" He struggles desperately searching for a solution; some way for the two of them to avoid another possible separation. "I won't let her split us up again!" He whispers dreadfully. "Whatever happens…"

She stops him with a fingertip pressed tenderly to his lips. "You know I'm right, Robin. And, there's no time to argue about it. "She grimaces in response to the chime of the ringing cell phone on her desk.

As she moves to answer it, Roland squints and points as the first faint traces of a swirling emerald cloud begin to materialize immediately to his left. "Regina! What's that?"

"Roland!" Regina lunges too late to stop Zelena from snatching the worried boy out of her chair.

Roland squeals and pummels his small fists against the arm anchored tightly around his belly. "Daddy! Regina, help!"

"Zelena, stop!" Regina roars, conjuring a fireball she can't throw for fear of hitting Roland as the fading green cloud around her begins to rematerialize."

Roland squirms and grunts furiously with the effort to free himself from her grasp, but she holds tight as both Robin and Regina rush toward her.

She shakes her head. "I'm leaving this rotten place. I'm taking my baby with me. If the two of you want yours back, you'll supply me with a way out. Outside! Now!"

She disappears with Roland kicking and screaming, "You let me go!" but not before Regina grabs hold of her at the last possible second.

The magical transfer is already in progress before Regina realizes that in the same instant she seized Zelena by the arm, Robin grabbed her free hand. Because she has the ability to follow Zelena, she's fine, but Robin's grasp is slipping. He's in trouble! She crushes his hand in a white knuckled grip. Holding on for dear life, she focuses frantically on their intended destination until she feels an involuntary magical shutter that rolls through her body and envelops his; blasting them apart, but simultaneously shielding him from all harm as he tumbles wildly against the sidewalk in front of the library.

Sensing that he's at least in one piece, Regina's own transport ends. When her feet are firmly on solid ground, she stops the flow of power shielding Robin from injury and pries Roland free of her sister's grasp before Zelena has time to step away.

Still enveloped in fading green vapor and unaware of exactly what is happening, or who has a hold on him, Roland kicks wildly against her. Confused and blinded by panic, he screams again, and this time every alarmed townsperson on the crowded sidewalk hears the same protest he issued only a moment before, "You let me go!"

Regina holds him close despite the bruises he's inflicting. Pivoting the hip he's nestled on away from her sister, she clenches her free hand into a fist and swings. She's shocked when she feels the blow connect to her sister's face, and equally shocked when Zelena's knees go out from under her.

The older sibling stumbles, collapsing backward onto her ass, and for a protracted moment in time she simply stares up at the younger in utter astonishment.

Regina uses her sister's moment of shock induced paralysis to gently rock the small boy in her arms and whisper. "Shh… Roland, it's me. You're safe. I've got you."

Recognizing her voice, Roland instantly goes quiet and wraps his arms around her neck as Regina turns and kneels beside his father who is still more than a bit stunned by his own rough, yet somehow harmless, landing.

Before he even has his own bearings, Robin knows she's near and instinctively reaches for his son. He's only vaguely aware of half the town's population standing on the sidewalk as he watches her take in their surroundings. The fog of confusion lifts slowly as he cradles his frightened son until he hears a sound that instantly clears his mind.

"Henry!" Regina cries out with equal parts fury and anguish. Leaving Roland to his father's care she rushes, without thought for her own safety, toward the metal cage her son is trapped in out in the middle of the street.

Too late to stop her, both Henry and Emma cry out respectively, "No, Mom don't!" and "Regina stop!"

The instant her hands make contact with the cage door, she's blown backward by the magical forcefield protecting it. On the ground; dazed but fiercely determined, she rolls over and pushes herself up onto her knees as Emma steps forward, offering her a hand up and saying quietly, "That won't work. Already tried it. She's the only one who can let him out of that thing."

As Regina slowly comes to her feet, she brushes dust from her clothes with agitation and glowers ominously at Zelena. "You let him out of there, right now!"

Finally coming back to her own feet, Zelena shrugs. "First me; then him."

Furious, but trapped, Regina glances at Robin apologetically.

Although she says nothing aloud, he nods with tacit understanding, and only then does she remove the Apprentice's wand from her inner jacket pocket and toss it in her sister's general direction. "You want a way out? You can open the damn portal for yourself."

Eager to be gone, Zelena retrieves the wand and points it toward the sky rolling her wrist in an elaborate flourish that somehow is not followed by the awesome and terrible spectacle she desires. She scowls for a moment when the great and powerful tornado does not appear. Squinting in confusion, she tries again but groans in disgust when she realizes what is holding her back. To open the portal, and escape back to Oz, she will need full power. She won't be able to split her focus. Because she has no other choice, she waves a hand dismissively, and Henry's cramped magical prison that was barely big enough to allow him to sit upright vanishes from existence.

The instant he's free, Henry runs to Regina and although she does hug him tightly, he is surprised when she turns, scoops Roland up, and places the little boy in his arms. "Take him over there. Stay with Emma and Mary Margaret until this is over."

As Robin comes to his feet beside Regina, Henry can't help but question, "You're really going to let her go? Just like that?"

Regina nods, and as Emma hugs Henry, the mere thought of her next words make her nauseous. "We have to. It's the only way to keep you and Roland safe." She runs her fingers through the younger boy's hair as she addresses her comments to the older one. "Go on. I'll be right there."

Henry walks away, with one arm around Emma, still not sure he believes that they actually intend to let Zelena go free. As he steps up onto the sidewalk and into the waiting embraces of David and Mary Margaret, Zelena tries again.

This time the familiar green funnel does appear, high overhead, in the sky. It's not fully open and available for travel until the lower end reaches the ground. Achieving this feat must require a fearfully large amount of power because, while the rest of them watch, feeling windswept and destressed, the great cyclone does indeed touchdown, but the instant it does Zelena doubles over; slumped with the extent of her efforts. In the single instant that she's no longer a threat, Robin lunges forward snatching the wand from her hand as Regina replaces the cuff; returning it from her pocket to its former place on her sister's wrist.

"Just so you know, you won't be able to get out of it this time. It's been newly enchanted. Amputating your own wrist is no longer an option, and if that nurse dies you'll face yet another murder charge."

David steps forward as sheriff and makes good use of his handcuffs while Zelena tries, without success, to wrestle free and growls belligerently, "I hate you!"

Regina shrugs. "That's old news, Sis. You might want to find yourself a new hobby." Motioning for Robin to join her, Regina turns her back on the seething witch and walks away; beyond bored with the threat that long ago became overly familiar and tiresome.

"Ugh! I swear Regina! If it takes the last breath in my body…" Before she can finish the thought, the ground at their feet begins to vibrate and then rumble violently. Dark clouds roll in overhead, materializing out of nowhere as the specter of some unseen dark and hideous thing seems to rise up and extinguish even the smallest of lights.

The citizens of Storybrooke seem to have one of two responses. They either flee in fear or stand rooted in place for the same reason. There's a moment of near bedlam until Regina catches sight of something she had hoped to never to see again. In the center of the street, where Henry's metal prison had sat only moments before, a portal of much more sinister proportion begins to open up; slowly spreading across the ground like a giant oily stain.

Emma clings to her son, as her mother clings to her and she bellows; demanding in a loud clear voice, "Zelena, what have you done now?"

Zelena scowls with indignation, but before she can declare herself to be innocent of this latest charge, someone only she, her sister, and Rumpelstiltskin recognize rises from the center of the, still expanding, oily black portal and, using the darkest of all magic, he beckons her to his side and she is powerless to do anything but comply.

Regina watches in horror; as Robin rushes forward in an unfortunate attempt to stop what he sees as some kind of abduction. "Robin, no! Let her go!"

"I can't! The baby…"

"Damn it, Robin! This isn't what you think it is! Let her…"

Before Regina can finish her thought, Robin grabs for Zelena's free hand, getting pulled into the same inescapable one-way flow that she is caught in. When hair on the other man's head erupts in frightening blue flames, Roland breaks free of Henry's arms and runs screaming for his father. Regina races after him, barely catching him before she is caught up in the sucking black vortex herself. With one arm wound tightly around the squirming child's body, she flails blindly, reaching out for anything to grab onto. It's sheer dumb luck when her free arm finds a lamppost to anchor to and she screams at Roland over the deafening roar of the sinister wind generated by this open portal to a place he doesn't need to go. "Stop it! Stop it, Roland! Stop fighting! If you don't, I'll lose you. I can't hold on!"

Crying and terrified, the small boy still persists. "No Regina! Let go! I'm going with my daddy."

Regina shakes her head, clings to the boy, and hopes like hell her arm doesn't give out before she can change his mind. "Listen to me, Roland! Your dad doesn't want you to follow him; not to the place where this thing leads. You stay here with Little John and Mary Margaret. I'll go. I won't let him be alone. Don't you worry Roland, I'll keep him safe."

Some of the fight drains out of him and she's grateful for it, but fears that progress came too late. The pull is getting stronger, and she isn't.

"You'll go with Daddy?"

"Of course, I will but you have got to stay here."

Regina nearly moans aloud with relief when Emma is suddenly there at her side using light magic to counteract the unrelenting pull of the vortex. She grabs for the boy, and although he fusses, Roland doesn't put up much of a fight as Regina passes him off.

Emma, in turn, passes Roland to her father, who then passes him over to Little John. Only when he is safe does Emma question, "Who is that, and what the hell does he want with your sister!"

"That… That would be Hades. I have no idea what he wants with Zelena, but I can promise you this - whatever he wants - it's nothing good."

"Hades? What? As in the dark Lord of the underworld!"

"Yep! That's him!"

"He's real too! Great! That's just friggin' great!"

Despite her supreme displeasure with the discovery, Emma recovers quickly. "Okay fine! Help me kick the bastard's ass. Let's pull Robin and Zelena out of there before this damn thing closes."

Regina shakes her head. "I can't help you that way. My control over light magic is not nearly strong enough yet. If I tried, I'd probably bring out pieces of them. And, before you ask, I can't fire dark magic into this thing. If I do, it will only get stronger. We'll all get sucked in if that happens. I have to go with Robin. He has no idea where this thing goes. He's never been down there."

"And what?" Emma bellows defiantly, "You have?"

"I have." Regina nods, feeling what's left of her strength begin to dissipate rapidly. "I can't hold on much longer, Emma. Even if I could, I have to let go before it closes."

"You mean it's not a strictly one-way trip?" Emma sets aside her sarcasm and gets down to business.

"No. It's not. Getting down there before your time is next to impossible, though. Coming back is even harder."

"Okay, nothing like a good challenge. What should I do?"

"Tell our boys not to worry. Talk to Gold. Find a way to get us home!"

Before Emma can make any demand for more precise direction than that, Regina loses her tenuous grasp on the lamppost. Pulled away by the swirling black vortex, she gets swallowed by nothing and disappears from view the very instant before the portal slams shut and vanishes from existence.

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Welcome to The Underworld**

* * *

Before the light of late afternoon returns, before the ominous clouds in the sky begin to roll back, before the earth stops trembling, even before his ears stop ringing in response to the deafening roar of dark wind; Henry rushes forward to the spot where his mother vanished from sight. "Mom! Mom!"

Unaware that Emma follows close behind, when he feels her reassuring hand on his back, he turns and buries his face in her shoulder.

"We'll get her back, kid. We'll get her back."

He nods his head against her shoulder and wraps an arm around the blonde's waist and falls into step with her as she moves back to the sidewalk to stand with the others. "Back from where exactly, Mom?"

Emma squeezes Henry shoulder as she reaches out to where Little John waits with Robin's young son in his arms and gently brushes tears from Roland's face. "From the underworld… Don't cry little man, we'll get your dad back too. Regina told me to tell you both not to worry. Everything's gonna be okay."

Roland looks to the place where his father's girlfriend disappeared from sight and wrinkles his nose. Squinting with uncertainty, he asks a weighted question with a single word. "How?"

Emma shrugs with honesty. "I haven't worked that part out yet, kid." She tries a smile and an upbeat tone. "Give me a few minutes."

Unmoved, Roland shifts his gaze from Emma to Henry.

"Hey, don't worry. If my mom says she's gonna get your dad back. She's gonna get your dad back. I promise." Henry assures.

Roland scowls and crosses his arms over his chest. "And Regina too! You have to get them both. I need them both!"

Emma can't help but chuckle at the seriousness in the child's voice. "Well then, we should stop standing here on the sidewalk. We've got some things to figure out… And lots of work to do." She hugs Henry tightly one last time before passing him off to her parents. "Go home with Mom and Dad. I'll be there shortly, I've got to find Gold."

* * *

Consciousness seeps in slowly and Regina stirs reluctantly, taking several long minutes to open her eyes. Before she does, she vaguely remembers the sensation of free falling into nothing. She remembers bumping into something on her way down. No, not something… Someone. Was it Zelena… Or Robin?

At first, she grapples for the memory, willing it to return; but the harder she tries, the faster if retreats. So, grudgingly, she breathes deeply and forces herself to relax. Just let it come in its own time. She goes perfectly still on the hard surface beneath her body. Her head is resting on something lumpy, and not altogether comfortable, but certainly more comfortable than the cool stone at her back. The air around her is damp and sour. At length, she begins to recall the sensation of strong arms around her. Someone was falling with her, holding her as they went, but who? the faint fragrance of plain, no frills soap, and the scent of newly refreshed earth after a good rain, both mingled with the lingering heady essence of smoke from an open fire, and the natural scent of someone unmistakably male.

Robin… Robin was with her. Opening her eyes, she pushes herself up onto her elbows and takes in the sight of the red earthen walls around her. She's alone in an empty chamber of a cave. Turning slowly, Regina realizes that her lumpy, makeshift pillow is really Robin's knapsack. He obviously left it with her. Wait! Did he leave voluntarily, or was he forced to leave her? She rubs the back of her sore neck with her right hand as dread and uncertainty form knots in her stomach. As she looks around for any clues that might tell her what she needs to know, her fingers find a large tender knot at the base of her skull. Had she hit her head accidentally on her way down, or had she been hit. Had she been unconscious, and if so, for how long?

More unsettled, with each passing second, she sits upright too quickly; causing a momentary flash of dizziness. Ignoring the nagging pain in her neck, she turns her head every which way. Her eyes searching for anything that can provide her with illumination.

In the darkened cave, her gaze skims over, and nearly misses what looks like displaced dust on the innermost wall of the chamber some 40 or 50 feet away. It isn't until she rises to her feet and slowly moves closer that she realizes what she sees. What she nearly missed, is a great deal more than just displaced dust. The dust has been intentionally displaced. Apparently, Robin has used his index finger to leave her messages in the dust; should she wake in his absence. Talk about the writing on the wall! She smiles.

R.

Gone scouting. Be back in 15 minutes to check on you.

~ R.

Beneath the simple missive, there's a short column that contains the message "15 minutes" five times. Each time, except for the last time, this phrase has been marked through with a fingertip; a line in the dust that allows her to count the minutes including the 15 minutes listed in the original message.

He's been coming and going for somewhere just shy of 90 minutes. He can't get far in only 15-minute intervals, but he is not a man for sitting around doing nothing. Aware that her condition was probably not serious he undoubtedly reasoned that sitting around watching her sleep, while it might be what he wanted to do, was less than productive. So, he left her messages to ease worries he knew she would have when she woke alone. Aside from being concerned enough about her welfare to return every 15 minutes, he's doing what he can to figure out where he is; trying to 'get the lay of the land.' as he calls it.

With nothing pressing to do in this precise moment, she idly taps the palms of her hands against her thighs and turns in a slow circle, taking yet another look around. His knapsack is here; minus his compass that is usually clipped to the leather buckle on the small front pocket. His canteen is here; resting against the wall nearest the opening of the chamber. Beside it, some of the arrows from his quiver are here as well, but the quiver itself, and his bow, are missing. No doubt, they are with him. She walks over and helps herself to a drink of tepid water from the canteen before picking up an arrow and examining the golden tip closely. Very sharp. Very useful, if needed. She gave these to him back in the Enchanted Forest quite some time ago. He must use them sparingly. Why leave a handful behind?

The answer is obvious. In case she needs them. Chuckling at his concern for her, she props the arrow against the wall and stares at her right palm, concerned to find that she has to concentrate intently in order to summon up even the smallest spark.

"Well, that's not good." She says to no one else but herself. "That's going to make throwing fireballs rather difficult down here. And, if ever I woke up in a place where I might want to throw one…"

Unsettled by this fact, she peers out through the chamber opening. Looking this way and that, she sees nothing and no one and briefly considers going in search of Robin. However, within only a second or two, logic and reason demand that she stays put. There is no immediate cause for alarm, and who knows how large this cave may be, or how many chambers it contains. He'll be back in less than 15 minutes. It's best that she waits him out, rather than risk being separated on a much more permanent basis.

For a few minutes, she paces idly; caught somewhere between peace and trepidation. She's not quite worried, but she's more than concerned. When she grows bored with pacing, she focuses on the arrow that is still propped against the wall and tries to retrieve it magically. The arrow never leaves its place, no matter how many times, nor how intently she tries. At best, it twitches slightly in response to her obviously diminished power.

She's so focused on the task at hand that she doesn't immediately realize that Robin has returned and is watching her chew on her lower lip as she stubbornly, and unsuccessfully, continues to try to get the arrow to levitate.

When intuition finally tells her that she is once again in the presence of benevolent company, she glances up with a slightly apologetic smile.

"Power outage?" He gestures toward the uncooperative arrow.

Irritated with herself, she nods and then shrugs. "It's this place. I had trouble with this sort of thing the last time I was here too. And from what little I know to be true, and from the research I've done since my first visit, magic is different down here. It seems, dark magic is… Co-opted… For lack of a better way to put it."

"Down here? You know where we are?"

"Not specifically no, but in a general broader sense, yes. Welcome to the underworld."

"The underworld? What? As in Hell?"

Regina shakes her head. "It's not Hell. It's purgatory; sort of the weigh-station between death and the afterlife. The inhabitants here have unfinished business that leads them to cling to corporeal life. For whatever reason, they either don't want to move on, or they can't. Not until they resolve, or make peace with, whatever holds them here. Once they do, they move on… To someplace better, or someplace worse… Whichever is appropriate."

He frowns and wipes a hand over his face as dread and sadness take up residency in his blue eyes. "I heard Roland calling for me before the portal closed. Were you able to stop him. Please tell me my son is not…"

Before he can finish the thought, she stops him with a tender hand on his shoulder and the simple shake of her head. "It's okay, Robin." She says softly. "He's not here. He's back in Storybrooke, safe and sound, with Little John, Emma, and Mary Margaret. I was able to tell Emma where we were headed. She'll find a way to help get us home, but it won't be easy for her. We need to do whatever we can to help her from this end."

"You're sure he's safe."

"Yes. I am. He's frightened for you, but he is safe. He is not here."

"Henry?"

"Topside with Roland and the others."

"Small favors." He breathes a sigh of relief. "Zelena is here… somewhere. I don't know where exactly. She was here with us for only a few minutes. He came. and she went away with him."

"Him?"

"The skinny fancy man with pits in his face and flaming blue hair." Robin sneers as if the words leave a sour taste in his mouth.

Regina chuckles wryly. "Fancy man is right, but technically, he's a god. A demented god. His name is Hades. He reigns supreme here, but he was banished here. He is tethered here. He can't really leave here. He can occasionally visit other realms for very short periods of time. However, doing so requires a colossal amount of power and he has none of his own. His brother, Zeus, stripped him of his powers as punishment for his crimes. He usurps and feeds off the powers of the souls that are trapped here. Basically, he has half-life. He survives, or rather, maintains his existence, such as it is, by bartering for power and forcing desperate people into Faustian deals."

"Faustian? You mean he forces people to give up their souls in exchange for whatever it is they want or need?"

Regina nods.

An ugly grimace wrenches Robin's handsome face. "Repugnant little leech; isn't he?"

"That he is, but do yourself, and me, a favor. Don't say that to loudly while we're down here. I don't think he intended to bring us along for the ride. I imagine he's not terribly happy with our presence here. However, happy or not, he will use it to the best of his advantage. He laughed at me and threw me out the last time I was here."

"I would've thought getting here before you were due would have been rather difficult."

"Oh, it is."

"But this is a repeat tour for you?"

She nods solemnly. "I nearly blew myself up trying to get down here the first time. I guess he found it amusing. He decided to help me out before I did myself in."

Robin scowls. "Regina, how could you, how could anyone, possibly want to come here."

She ducks her hand and wraps her arms around herself as if she's cold. In a small voice, barely above a whisper, she admits "it was right after Daniel died. I wanted to make a deal. My soul… For his renewed life."

"Regina no!"

She nods miserably, only looking up to meet his gaze when she feels his firm but gentle grasp on her forearms.

"From what you've told me about Daniel, he was a good man. He loved you. If Hades had accepted the deal you offered, he would have spent the entirety of his new life in agony. No man could be happy with such a sacrifice - not from a woman he truly loved."

"It didn't matter anyway. I was young. I didn't know, Robin - not even Hades is capable of resurrection. Even if he had been, he wouldn't have done it. He laughed at me. He thought my request ridiculous; absurd even. He said he didn't need to make such a deal. I was plenty valuable to him as I was; alive and dark. He said if Daniel were alive I might be less inclined to send people his way. He kicked me out; sent me home to my own dark misery."

Robin pulls her close and wraps her in fierce hug. "In that case, I owe him a thank you. I know how to get us out of this cave. Any ideas how to get us home?"

Well, assuming we can find him -I've only ever been in his lair, and only then because he wanted it. He permitted it. I have no idea how to get there from here. So, like I was saying, assuming we can find him - we can try asking him to send us home. It's not likely to happen though. He's not known for his generosity. If he decides to send us home, it will be because it's to his advantage to do so. So, our best option is to inspire him to send us home. That is, without pissing him off enough to make him want to kill us. I told Emma to talk to Gold right before I got sucked in. If we can't get ourselves home; she's plan B."

"She's probably already working on a rescue mission. Henry's probably already given it one of his catchy little titles."

Regina smiles wanly. "I bet you he has. So, Zelena went off with him?"

Robin nods.

"Willingly?"

Robin shrugs and wrinkles his brow. "She did seem surprised to see him, and I don't think she was particularly happy about being snatched away so abruptly, but she seems to know him, and her departure seemed willing enough to me. She didn't seem to be under any duress."

I figured as much." Regina sighs drolly. I have a goose egg at the base of my skull, and no memory of how I got it. But somehow, I feel it came courtesy of my sister."

The chuckle that escapes Robin is dry and humorless. "Right you are, mi'lady. You tried to stop her from going with him. Before I could stop her, she hit you with a rock and declared it to be payback. Did you punch her? She claims you did."

Regina nods as she gently rubs the sore spot on the back of her neck. "You must've missed it thanks to your rough landing out in front of a clock tower. Sorry about that, I did the best I could. She snatched Roland from my office. I followed, so did you. As soon as I had Roland safely back in my arms, I decked her. It was strangely, and supremely, satisfying. My magic has always made physical brawling unnecessary. With all the damage I've done, I don't think I've ever actually hit anyone before. Well, except for Emma, but that was different. That was self-defense. How apropos that it should be my sister."

Robin chuckles quietly. "Don't trouble yourself over my rough landing. Thanks to you, I'm fine. And, for what it's worth, I think a sibling is usually the first person most people hit. Of course, most of them are probably a tad younger than the two of you. Probably toddlers fighting over a favored toy. Given everything that's happened recently, I'm surprised it hasn't happen sooner. Wait! You hit Emma?"

Regina nods. "It was a few years ago. We were fighting over Henry. She caught me by surprise. That annoying little blonde is scrappy when she's angry. Came up behind me and threw me into a wall. Or maybe a shelf; in a hospital supply closet. We traded a few blows until we both came to our senses and figured out we had someone far more important to be concerned with."

"You're both rather fiery, love… and fortunately, you're also smart enough to know when to set it aside. I know all you probably want to do is to get back home to Henry and Roland as quickly as possible, but do you think you can try to use the same judgment where your sister is concerned. I don't really want to leave her here."

Regina sighs in resignation. "Come on. Let's go find her. She's my sister. if anybody's going to make her life hell for all eternity, it is going to be me!"

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Contaminated by the Light**

* * *

Robin and Regina walk toward the mouth of the cave hand in hand. "Any idea how we go about finding his lair?"

Regina shakes her head. Not a clue. One minute, I was in the palace… Then, I was there… Inside the lair. He called me there magically. All I know for sure is that it's down here somewhe…"

As they step through the cave's opening, conversation skids to a halt and Regina's thought process becomes garbled as she and Robin both stare open-mouthed at the scene that lays before them. Regina squints incredulously and Robin grunts and then inhales deeply as if the wind has literally been knocked out of him.

They both turn quietly in a slow circle, at a complete loss before Robin unintentionally stammers. "It's… It's…"

"It's Storybrooke." Regina finishes for him; completely dumbfounded. "Either that or it's made to look like Storybrooke."

Robin squints. "There's the park, Main Street, the cemetery, and Granny's is over that way." He points.

"You think it's called Granny's down here?"

Robin shrugs; still looking around, and feeling thoroughly unsettled, he breathes quietly. "This is just…"

"Eerie?"

He nods mutely before asking, "Regina, why does the underworld look like Storybrooke?"

"You got me!" She shrugs.

Lifting his chin; the scowl of confusion on Robin's face deepens. "Regina why is the sky red."

She tilts her head back and then shrugs with indecision. "I don't know the answer to that one either, Robin. C'mon…" Protectively, she pulls her tailored suit jacket tighter around herself as if it is armor that will shield her from all unknown dangers. "I don't like this place. The sooner we find a way to get home the better." She reaches for his hand.

"Agreed." He answers; placing his hand in hers once more and falling into step with her.

Without speaking, they seem to have a tacit understanding that since they don't really know where they're going, it will be best to head toward Main Street; the heart of town. However, they don't take more than a dozen steps before they hear a sound… A sound that chills the marrow in their bones. Even before it is seen, their ears are assaulted by the ominous deep-throated growl of some villainous monster.

They each look around at a loss until Regina catches sight of the black beast, bounding out of the reddish-gray mist, and headed straight for them at an impossible rate of speed given its colossal size.

For ½ second, all thought processes come to a grinding halt. She and Robin simply stare. Each of the thing's four feet is easily three times bigger than an elephant's. Regina's jaw drops and then snaps shut again as her gaze travels slowly upward. This beast before them is taller than some of the trees in Storybrooke's forest, and it might easily weigh a few tons.

When she finds her voice, she stammers, "Ohh…big, big, big, big, big, big, really big dog!"

"Really big dog! Robin concurs nervously. "Really big dog with three heads."

Already turning, she lets go of Robin's hand and heads back in the direction they came. "Yeah, I know. I saw; back to the cave?"

The snarling dog barks and the treetops sway and bend in response.

"Right behind you! Good idea, don't think he'll fit in there. Can't get through the opening. He's too bloody big!" Even as he speaks, he's already aware that they may not make it. How is it possible for such a mammoth sized animal to move quick as lightning? Turning, dropping his knapsack, and readying his bow, while the ground trembles beneath his feet, his only thought is to buy Regina enough time to get to safety.

He fires. Ever the marksman, his arrow glides home; striking deep into one of the beast's shoulders.

Crippled, the gargantuan dog skids to a halt just in time to avoid crushing Robin to death with one of his paws and towers over him, howling and yelping in pain, loud enough to revive the centuries-old dead.

He does not see her turn back, but he hears Regina cry out his name, her fear for him unmistakable, as he crouches in the self-protective posture, drops his bow, and covers his ears; afraid his eardrums will rupture in response to the hellish noise.

The monstrous canine with its black, dirty, matted, fur and its rotting breath uses his teeth to rip the arrow out of his own flesh. As its blood begins to flow freely, it howls in agony again and uses his uninjured forepaw to swat angrily at Robin. With only a minuscule amount of effort, he lifts Robin off the ground and sends him flying.

"Robin!" Regina screams in horror, and then hisses with rage through clenched teeth, "I don't think so!" Without consciously thought, reacting purely on instinct, she raises both hands high, and pure dazzling white power erupts hotly from both of her palms. One hand is aimed at Robin, the other, at the beast who bounds after its prey and clamps its powerful jaws down hard on the retired thief's left calf.

Robin screams in terror and pain, but at precisely the same second he feels enormous teeth tearing into his flesh, he also feels a magical barrier of untold intensity envelop him so that he might be protected.

As arrows fall from his quiver, and scatter on the ground, to be trampled by the monster's feet, Regina uses the hand that is not protecting the man she loves to send a second blast of magic straight into the hellish animal's wounded shoulder.

The ugly beast grunts and snarls ominously, and as it shakes Robin about violently, yet does not relent or release his horrible grip, he glares at Regina with angry, haunting, yellow eyes."

"Oh, what!" She yells. "Don't like that? Too bad! Drop him! Now!"

When the monstrosity before her does not comply with her order, she increases the flow of power directed at its bloody shoulder and yells louder. "I mean it, Cujo! Back off! He belongs to me! I'm the only one allowed to bite him! Let him go and back off…or die!"

The stubborn three-headed hound hangs on, refusing to relent, for a second or two longer while Robin struggles with all his strength to free himself as he bends at the waist, hanging upside down and clutching at his wounded leg to no avail. The dog shakes him cruelly, until it can withstand the pain Regina is magically inflicting no longer.

Finally released, Robin tumbles to the ground, first rolling, and then crawling away as quickly as he possibly can.

Regina's protective magical barrier follows him until she can step between him and her dark target. Keeping one hand zeroed in on the bleeding wound, she uses the hand now free to magically retrieve one of Robin's arrows from the ground and hurl it at her enemy.

Her first arrow misses any and all, flesh; but determined and thoroughly pissed off, she tries again and manages an impressive flesh wound to one of the beast's three necks. Rapidly getting a feel for how it should go, she hurls another arrow, and another, until her foe decides to stop lunging menacingly in her direction and begins to back away.

Still bloodthirsty and livid at being bested, the animal begins to turn unwillingly; looking back over its shoulder reluctantly. When she realizes she's only got three arrows left, she magically selects one and then uses the opposite hand to set it aflame with a white-golden blaze before taking aim and launching the final phase of her attack… When the arrow strikes flesh and the hideous animal's tail catches fire, it yelps and howls in torment and finally begins to run; fleeing as quickly as possible on its three good legs.

In the wake of the beast's retreat, with the ground rumbling and shaking beneath her best pair of leather boots, Regina stomps her foot and growls hotly in anger, "Yeah, you better run! You mangy, foul-smelling, flea-infested, hell hound!"

Then, when she hears an unexpected sound, she turns, eyebrow raised, with hands on her hips, to find Robin a few feet away, lying on the ground, resting on one elbow, and covered in more than just grass and dirt. He has blood stains soaking through his clothes in more than one place; and yet, despite obvious pain, he's trying to stifle a hearty chuckle.

She hurries to his side. Going down on her knees, she questions peevishly, "Just what the hell are you laughing at?"

Drying up his laughter, he shakes his head, and tries to answer. Then, he instantly wishes he hadn't.

Regina sees the grimace, hears the stifled groan, and reads the pain; courtesy of his blue eyes.

"Where does it hurt the worst?"

Awkwardly, he uses the hand attached to the arm he's resting on to point to his side.

She quickly pushes his jacket aside, unbuttons his shirt, and gently lifts his white undershirt to reveal a deep, nasty looking, gash in his side.

Before another groan of pain has time to escape him, her hands glow white once again. He feels tender warmth and watches, mesmerized, as the wound slowly closes and vanishes from sight. When his lower torso is whole again, he pokes his own healed flesh with curious fingers.

Without comment, Regina moves to take care of his leg whiles he stares at her in wonder and awe. She tries to take his boot off, but when he flinches in response to her ministrations, she leaves it on, heals him first, and then takes it off, inspecting him carefully, turning his ankle this way and that, watching his eyes for signs of pain; all to make sure she's done a good enough job. When she's satisfied, she tenderly touches the bottom lip he hadn't realized was split and swollen. Only when it's mended does she gently brush her own lips against his.

"Anywhere else?" She breathes quietly; her mouth not even an inch away from his.

When he nods slightly, she frowns.

"My shoulder. I think it's out."

"What? Out; as in dislocated?"

He nods again. "Not gonna be fun putting it back in."

Worried, she admits, "I've never used magic to do that before, but I'll try if you want me to…" She squints. "Your choice."

With little thought, he nods for the third time and gestures, once more, toward his own shoulder with his chin.

"You sure?"

He smiles. "I'm betting this was probably the first time you've used magic to keep a man from becoming dog Kibble too… and you did an absolutely smashing job of that, mi'lady. I'll risk it."

She chuckles softly as she lays gentle magical hands on his wounded shoulder; both front and back. Once again, he feels the tender warmth of her healing touch as she lectures quietly, "One of these days, you're going to learn to stop trying to protect me."

"Not bloody likely!"

She starts to object, and then as his shoulder shifts back into place, he winces slightly before sitting upright and laying a gentle finger to her lips. "I'll never stop Regina. Doesn't matter if you can take care of yourself. That's not what love does."

Still of a mind to object out of concern for his own safety, she chews on her bottom lip for a long moment before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close. As her adrenaline finally begins to subside, her emotions rise, leaving her voice thick as she whispers, "That thing could've torn you to shreds, Robin."

Shaking his head, he rubs her back and whispers again, "Not bloody likely. You've got one hell of an impressive learning curve, you know that? Less than 10 minutes ago, you couldn't even get one of those arrows to levitate."

Coming to her feet, she waits briefly for him to put his boot back on, and then, helps him to his as she shrugs and offers honestly. "That's because I was trying to use dark magic to do it. You remember what I told you? Hades was stripped of his powers when he was tethered here. He has no magic of his own."

"Yes, dark magic is co-opted here. He feeds off the residents of this place."

"Yes, it's sort of pooled into a collective. I suppose, if you've been here long enough, and you're powerful enough, you can learn to tap into that collective. His usurping the powers of the residents serves two purposes. It makes him strong, and it keeps most of the others here weak; easily under his thumb. However, judging by what just happened, and I'm only guessing here, but maybe light magic doesn't flow into the collective. If it did, that power would be weak for me too; probably nonexistent since I have so little control over it. Or, even if light magic can flow into the collective… he must not be able to tap into it. Makes sense." She declares thoughtfully after a beat. "He's too dark. He can't touch it, at least not without it touching him; and I don't think Hades is about to allow that to happen."

Robin squints as he follows along with her train of thought. "Isn't that - I guess, the counter-balance to 'Stare long into the abyss, and the abyss stares into you?"

"God, I certainly hope so!" She laughs.

Robin squeezes her shoulders affectionately as they set out once more.

While on their way, she shoulders his bow, knapsack, and quiver to give his shoulder more time to heal from the outside in and begins collecting his fallen arrows; the ones that didn't find, and get carried away by, her target.

"Okay," Robin continues, "Assuming you're right. He can't use the light stuff. He doesn't want to be – contaminated - by it. Does that give us an edge down here? An advantage?"

Regina chuckles drolly. "Robin, I wouldn't rely too heavily on that. His darkness… he's a lot darker than I ever thought about being. And he's got control over his. I don't have control over mine. Not down here."

"Love." He kisses her temple. "Have you learned nothing from what you just did. Or from the last few years, for that matter. You can't triumph over darkness with more darkness. Only the light can do that."

"You're betting an awful lot on me, Robin. I have no idea what to do next."

"So, we'll figure it out. Together. And, there's no one else I'd rather bet on."

When she smiles up at him, he raises an eyebrow and can't help but chuckle as he asks, "So... you're the only one allowed to bite me; is that right?"

"You better believe it, Robin Hood!"

* * *

 **Chapter 16: The Reluctance of Gold**

* * *

More than a bit frustrated, Emma smacks her palms down flat against the countertop in Gold's Pawn Shop.

"Come on Gold! What's it gonna take? What's your price?"

"Sorry dearie. I'm not of a mind to barter just now."

"Gimme a break man! You're always in the mood to have someone indebted to you."

Gold makes a show of smoothing his tie; as if he's bored. "Not today, Ms. Swan."

"The last time Zelena was out and about in Storybrooke, she locked up you in a cage; or have you forgotten that?"

"And now she's back, and things have run amok all over again. Honestly, I don't know why Regina didn't just leave her in New York?"

"Living in your son's apartment?"

"My son is gone now. His worldly possessions will not soothe that loss."

"So, you're just going to leave Regina and Robin down there? You're really okay with that after all Regina's done for you?"

He laughs snidely." Done for me? Are you forgetting all she has done to me?"

Emma wobbles her head side to side in agitation. "Potato, patato! You used her like a puppet to cast the curse that brought us all here so that you could find your son. And, you did. Things didn't work out the way you hoped they would, but you did find him! Whatever else you two have, or haven't, done to each other; she did bring you here."

Two townspeople browsing sundries in the shop become uncomfortable with the tense voices of the blonde and the shopkeeper and attempt to see themselves out unnoticed. When it doesn't work, Gold gestures toward the door with annoyance. "Alright! It's time for you to leave now. You're costing me customers, but for whatever it's worth, if she were anywhere else but there, I'd be a great deal more inclined to help. I'm not going back there. Not until I have no other choice'"

"Is that what this is about? Fear of your own…" She shakes her head; shrugging as she does so…"demise? It is; isn't it? You're afraid you going to wind up down there with unfinished business and things to answer for."

"I hardly see how it's any concern of yours."

"You're still alive Gold. You still have time. Time to turn a new page. Of course, doing the right thing here… Well, it certainly couldn't hurt."

"I have no interest in turning a new page. Your mother is starting to rub off on you. Just now, you sounded a great deal like her."

He stares at her silently for a weighted moment.

When his lack of action begins to make her uncomfortable, Emma snaps with hostility, "What? Are you waiting for an apology for that? If you are, I can assure you, you'll be waiting a very long time."

"As will you, if you're waiting for me to change my mind. I'm not going, and that's the end of it, Ms. Swan."

"Regina is down there right now; dealing with God knows what! Other than herself, you're the only person in Storybrooke who's been down there. We need your help. If we don't go get them back, your grandson will be heartbroken. If we don't go get them back, Roland is going to grow up without his father. He's just a little boy; a little boy who has already known the pain of losing his mother. And, you know how it felt to be separated from your son because you put your own selfish needs and desires ahead of his. Do you really want Robin and Roland to know that loss as well because you're about to make another selfish choice?"

Without answering, Rumpelstiltskin steps away from his sales counter and momentarily turns his back to retrieve a small, obsidian tinted. glass vial from a curio cabinet on the back wall. Returning to the counter, he pulls the stopper from its receptacle, reaches into the display case and retrieves a small ceremonial knife with a jewel encrusted handle. Emma looks on, feeling more disturbed than shocked, while he quickly slices through the tender heart of his own palm, barely bothering to flinch, as he holds his bleeding hand directly over the mouth of the vial and allows a healthy trickle of blood to flow into it. He stoppers the vial again and pushes it toward her. "In the interest of discontinuing this horrid little conversation, I'll supply what you need to open the gateway to the other side. Once you get there, you'll have to find your own way home… If you can."

Emma picks the vial up with tentative fingers and wrinkles her nose in disdain "Regina send me to talk to you because… I need your blood to get into the underworld?"

"That's right, dearie. Unless you want to go and do something messy. Like - kill yourself."

"I'd rather not."

"Well then, you'd better listen closely, Ms. Swan." He points. "Be careful with that. Don't spill it any place you shouldn't. Your feet must be in the lake at midnight, you can't stand on the shore and call the ferryman. However many people go over, the same number of people must return. No exceptions. And, once more, I strenuously advise you not to go. Regina got back the first time because Hades let her come back. He's not likely to be so inclined a second time. If she and her forest-dwelling thief do make it back - mark my words, it will come at a great cost. For the welfare of my grandson, I suggest you do the smart thing. Stay here. Stay alive. The boy has already lost his father, and now it's likely he's lost the mother who wanted him; even in his infancy. Must he lose you as well?"

Emma slips the vial into the right-hand pocket of her signature red leather jacket. "I'm not you, Gold. I can't look my son in the eye and tell him his mother isn't coming back. Not until I've done everything within my power to see that she does."

She stomps out of the shop letting the door slam behind her with enough force to not only make the doorbell clang angrily, but to set the windows rattling as well. Heading for her parent's loft apartment with ground-eating strides; she mutters under her breath. "Coward!"

* * *

 **Chapter 17: An Unpleasant Meeting**

* * *

Their feet find Main Street. Or rather, their feet find the underworld's desecrated version of Main Street. Assuming she will want to visit the most frequently populated place in the hopes of finding answers to their many questions, Robin heads for Granny's. Prior to reaching the establishment, he cringes at the obliteration around him. He sees people with suspicion in their eyes, people engaged in questionable, if not outright illegal, behavior. He sees the fallen clock tower, the horribly damaged pavement under and around it, the wrecked cars, and the vandalized storefronts. He sees the trash and decay everywhere he looks. Regina is eerily silent. She must be devastated to see her town in this state of anguish and utter ruin. Lost in his thoughts, it takes Robin by several seconds to realize that she's no longer at his side. He stops and turns to find her ten feet away with an indecisive look on her face. Thoughtfully, she chews her bottom lip; with dread in her eyes.

"Regina?"

When she doesn't answer, when she gives no indication that she heard him at all, he retraces his steps; coming to a stop directly in front of her and gently resting a hand in the tender curve of her neck.

Confused by the unexpected touch, she blinks, takes a ½ step away, and then smiles apologetically. "Sorry." She breathes barely above a whisper. "Did you say something?"

He lifts her chin with the pressure of a gentle thumb and searches her eyes. "Are you with me?"

Despite her shaken emotions, she answers with a quiet and impenetrable resolve. "I'm with you always, Robin."

"Alright, but what's wrong?

She can't help but smile at how well he reads her. "I can't shake the feeling we're about to make a mistake." When he raises an eyebrow, silently encouraging her to continue, she offers, "Going in there unannounced and unexpected probably isn't a good idea. Especially not if that place is as crowded here as it is topside.

"I'm listening. Tell me why."

"Robin, it'll be like walking, uninvited, into the lion's den. I'm the reason some of those people are here. I can promise you that. I sent some of them here – personally. Maybe even a lot of them."

Feeling mildly impatient, he smiles anyway, and quietly reminds her, "I know who you are."

She shakes her head; gently taking the hand at her neck and threading her fingers through his. "Your opinion of me is not what I'm worried about. At least, not right now. Some of those people in there have more than ample reason to hate me. That's okay. I can take that, but it's dinnertime… Assuming people here still observe such banal rituals. We're likely to be outnumbered. Very outnumbered. You ever walk your way into a robbery without knowing the way out first."

Easily following her logic, he shakes his head. "Never." He smiles in a self-deprecating fashion. "At least not after the first time."

She returns his smile. "You'll have to tell me about that some time. For now, I think we need a new plan. Or, at the very least, a better plan."

"Some place less crowded. Some place less likely to become volatile. At least until word spreads that we're here. People will still be angry, but less likely to react violently than if they see you unexpectedly."

She nods.

"Where to?"

"I'm not sure. If the geography is the same, and obviously, it is, if the town is the same… Minus all the destruction, do you think everything else in the same? I mean – you think everything that is up there is also down here?"

He shrugs. "Don't know. Pick a place, or maybe a thing, and let's go find out."

She purses her lips in thought. "My office, or my vault; either one."

He looks around, making a quick decision. "Your office is closer."

She nods, and changes direction.

Moments later, he holds the door open for her as they enter the town hall and find it in the same distressing condition as the rest of Main Street.

Trying hard to ignore the broken windows, graffiti, trash and the thick layer of dust that covers her professional domain, Regina focuses on Robin; smiling graciously when he opens the door to her inner office and waits for her pass through ahead of him.

Two steps over the threshold, she gasps in shock, and straightens her right arm, abruptly blocking Robin's path as he, once again, attempts to fall into step at her side. Protectively, she steps in front of him as she exclaims, "Mother!"

Robin watches with unabashed curiosity as the other woman in the room rises from the seat behind her daughter's desk and offers a similar shocked greeting. "Regina!"

Struck completely dumb, Regina watches as her mother is the first to recover her bearings, and step around the desk.

Before Regina can think to sidestep her embrace, she finds herself wrapped in an uncharacteristic an unexpected hug. She stands stiffly, only thinking that she should return the embrace a mere second before her mother steps back, places a hand on either of her forearms and looks her over with a discerning eye. Although she says nothing immediately, Regina is quite certain she sees an unmistakable, and all too familiar, spark of disapproval in the older woman's eyes. Disapproval, and something else too, but what is it? Annoyance? Why should her mother be annoyed with her arrival? Before she has time to question the flash of emotion, it's gone. It's tucked away, out of sight, like so many of her mother's feelings.

"Darling, what are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here… Not yet."

"I had to come, Mother. Robin got pulled into a portal."

Cora shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. You cannot be here, Regina. We must get you home. We must get you home, now. Before he figures out you're here."

"He who? Hades? I think it's a little late for that, Mother. Who do you think opened the portal?"

The Queen of Hearts frowns. "Well, that's not good. Not good at a… Wait? Did you say, Robin?" She gives the man behind her daughter the same look of appraisal, with the same undeniable flash of disapproval in her gaze.

Regina tries to ignore it again as she nods affirmatively. "Mother, this is Robin of Locksley and Sherwood Forest. Robin, meet my mother, Cora Mills."

Instead of bowing in reverence, Robin offers her a slight nod of the head that is only indicative of such a gesture. "Your Majesty."

Whatever the reason it exists, Cora's annoyance, it is no longer questionable.

When Regina casually takes, yet another, step between the two of them that Cora knows is meant to be protective, she snaps, "Will you stop that Regina? I'm not going to hurt the man. I have no reason to."

"You'll have to forgive me, Mother." Recovering from the worst of her shock, Regina's voice develops a flinty edge. "But, I don't recall you ever needing a reason to hurt the people I love."

"Oh Regina, don't be so tiresome. I don't have time to apologize, yet again. We've got to get you out of here. You, and your merry thief."

As Cora steps toward the door, Regina resists. "We're not leaving, Mother. Not without Zelena."

Shock steals her progress and she whirls to face her daughter once more. "Zelena is here?"

Too late to feign ignorance, she sighs, "Wait! You know about your sister?"

"I do, yes." Regina confirms with a calm that is unnerving to Robin."

"But how? I…" She stops short.

Regina's eyes narrow to slits and she studies the woman's face; searching hard. "You what?"

When Cora continues to hesitate, Regina's suspicions are confirmed. "What Mother? What did you do to Zelena?"

"I don't have time to explain now. Where is she?"

Regina shrugs; not feeling in the least bit helpful. "She's with him. Can't say I know where, though."

"I know where. Stay here. In this room. Do you hear me? Do not leave this room! On her way out the door, Cora glances back catching sight of the knapsack and weaponry slung over her daughter's shoulders. Horrified, she glares first at Robin, and then at Regina as she demands, "Regina Mills, you will put his things down at once! What has happened to you? Have you reduced yourself to a man's servant?"

She turns her venomous hostility briefly to Robin. "My daughter is not your pack mule! She is a queen!"

Before either Regina or Robin can respond, she stomps down the hallway and disappears in a cloud of deep, dark, wine colored smoke.

Thoroughly displeased with her mother's behavior, Regina finds herself doing battle with the supreme desire to hurl one of Robin's arrows after her mother until, upon realizing this, Robin takes it upon himself to relieve the tension by bowing deeply, with mock chivalry, and declaring sarcastically, "A pleasure meeting you too… Your Majesty!"

Regina pulls him close, wrapping her arms around him, she and buries her face in his shirt front to stifle the laughter that bubbles up from deep in her throat.

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Undone**

* * *

Despite the natural dark, dank, quality of any underground liar Hades keeps his personal domain awash in extravagance. The people outside his grand chamber live in squalor while he feasts on opulence. Not a speck of dust is seen anywhere among these treasures. His furnishings, his décor, his glorious possessions; all of them the very finest that magic can provide. Everything is kept polished to absolute glimmering perfection; or else the servant girl will find herself down some fiery pit.

The sound of Puccini fills the cavern courtesy of his elaborate sound system. He pilfers things from this world or that, from one era or another. High tech or low tech matters not. What matters is that each item be fine enough to receive his special stamp of approval. He's a collector. As he sits upon his throne sipping from a full bodied red wine, he marvels at the woman nestled provocatively on his lap. She is his most recent, and by far, his most sought-after acquisition.

She's self-centered, and vain, just like he is. She's also gloriously wicked from her ginger colored tresses to her delicate bare toes; currently painted a dazzling shade of ruby red.

When he notices that she's a little too quiet, he lifts her chin in the crook of his index finger and offers her a kiss; one she returns with a fraction of her usual ardor.

Breaking away, he runs his fingers through her hair and frowns thoughtfully. "What shall we do to lift your mood? I hate seeing you so unhappy, my darling."

Zelena sulks. "Are you sure you can't take this cuff off me. I feel like I've been put on a leash."

"Sorry, my love, but your sister has altered its magical properties. She tainted it with enough light magic that I could tug on it all night long. It won't budge. Since removing your hand is no longer an option, if I hit that thing with enough dark magic to break through - I'm sure I could, but not without seriously injuring the both of us. You'll just have to wear it until a solution presents itself. We'll get it off you somehow."

"It's not fair Hades! I wanted them to hate each other. At the very least, I wanted Regina to hate him, to be repulsed by him, sickened by the thought of him touching her; loving her."

Darling, just because it hasn't worked yet, doesn't mean it won't. Patience, these things take time."

"Hades, he followed me down here. She followed him. Has she no pride, at all? Or, do you think she really loves him that much?"

The dark god laughs recklessly. "There's no denying that Regina has gone soft. She used to send me new souls by the dozen. I haven't had one from her in a good long while, but still, I refuse to believe a heart that dark is capable of a complete 180. Trust me, she's holding on to some resentment. I wouldn't expect any less from her. She's always been stubborn. That, and generally uncooperative. She just did what she did so well that it was worth a little tolerance. She may care for the outlaw, but Regina is not capable of an abiding, truly unconditional, love. She may be stubbornly trying to hold on, but sooner or later this place will get to her; bring out the worst in her. This place has its way with everyone… eventually. When that happens, the mask will fall. The thief will get his first real glimpse of her; up close and personal."

"I don't know Hades. I'm telling you, he's just as stubborn as she is. If she's wearing a mask, he's wearing a blindfold. One I haven't been able to take off him; try as I might.

"You say he loves the boy. What's his name? Roland?"

"God yes! The precocious, wholesome, little brat! I'm glad to be rid of him! Father and son are inseparable. It's absolutely nauseous-making; the way Robin lets him run about, exploring wherever he will. The kid never shuts up, either! He asks questions all the time. And what does Robin do? He encourages the darling little runt to ask more questions!" Zelena finishes even more snidely than she began. "If I could have found a way to make it happen, I would've shipped his annoying little bum off to some New York boarding school. But no! He's got his papa too tightly wound around his little finger. Do you know, that every time the little tyke asked for something and I said no, he had the audacity to whine, 'Regina would let me!' and, of course, his father would cave; folded in on himself and toppled over like a bloody house of cards, he did! I mean it, every single time!" I'm telling you, the two of them were maddening."

Hades nods. "It shouldn't take too long. Hearing about her past darkness may not have been enough to scare him off. Once he gets a taste of it firsthand, he'll want her as far away from his wholesome little imp as possible. That is, if I decide to let them go home. I may keep them here."

"Ugh! Hades, no! Please don't do that! I don't want to bump into my sister every time I come down for a visit. You know she's going to wind up stuck down here for years. What, with all her evil deeds to lay to rest… and Henry!"

"I'm assuming you mean the son; as opposed to the father."

"God yes! She's just as bad about him as Robin is about Roland! She will refuse to leave. She won't put one toe over the great divide until her precious son crosses over and is waiting for her 85 years from now! You can't send her back without Robin either. She will never stop trying to get him back. We'll never had any peace. Besides, if you're so sure that they will wind up despising each other, Send them both back to Storybrooke. Let them have to live in the same town and look at each other every day. Let them drown in their misery. Let them choke on it!"

Cheered by her own wickedness, Zelena wraps her arms around his neck and leans in for a long satisfying kiss.

Some moments later, just as their clothes start to become something of a nuisance, there's a loud, insistent knock at the door. Groaning, Hades tears his lips from hers. "Go away!"

Another knock sounds; this one more persistent than the first.

"Go away now!" Hades barks with hostility.

When he hears a familiar female voice coming from beyond the door, "Hades! It's me! Let me in!" he smiled devilishly. "Oh… This is going to be fun!" He says quietly; for Zelena's ears only.

She gives him a doubtful but curious look as he waves his hand in the air dramatically releasing the magical lock in the door to his lair and calls out. "You may enter."

He steals one last kiss as the door opens and then turns, greeting his guest with an arrogant smile.

Accustomed to being the center of attention, Cora strides fully into the center of the room before she takes in the sight of the couple with their tousled hair and rumpled clothing. She groans in utter abhorrence as Hades says coolly, "Cora." And then turns his attention back to the redhead on his lap. "Zelena dear, allow me to introduce … your mother."

* * *

Left alone, without her mother in the office, Regina decides to make good use of opportunity.

Robin looks on curiously as she steps around the desk and opens a drawer. When she doesn't find whatever, it is she's looking for, she opens another drawer; her confusion and displeasure both evident in the set of her mouth.

"You sure it's wise to go through your mother's desk?" He inquires quietly.

Regina scoffs derisively. "It's still my desk. She just helped herself to it. I can't keep her out of it when I'm not here, but I'm not about to let the fact that she has obviously claimed it for herself keep me out of it." In frustration, Regina opens another drawer. When she doesn't find what she wants, she closes it a bit too forcefully.

Aware that the tension is rising again, Robin approaches. "What exactly are you looking for; maybe I can be of service."

Regina shakes her head, halting her search momentarily. "Thank you, but no! Please don't touch anything in here. Not everything you see in this room belongs to me. I'm guessing, since she's clearly made herself at home, some of it belongs to her. Anything in here could be imbued with magical properties, curses, dark charms, protection spells, or incendiary devices - even the stuff that does belong to me. To be on the safe side, put your hands in your pockets."

A whisper of a dry chuckle escapes her when he actually does as she suggests.

"But Regina, if it's not safe for me to touch anything in here, should you be touching anything. I'm even less thrilled about the prospect of you losing a hand to some medieval magical booby trap than I am about the prospect of the same thing happening to me."

"I can risk it. No matter what traps she's laid, they all have to be disarmed with blood magic. Otherwise, she'd hurt herself. I'm her daughter, by blood, for better or worse. Whether she intends for it to or not, that fact automatically grants me right of passage." She continues her search, moving away from the desk and to a file cabinet as she keeps talking. Opening a drawer, she says, "The only way you'd be granted the same right is if you and I are somehow biologically related to one another." She gazes up from her task briefly and makes a sour face. That particular thought is just too upsetting to consider under the circumstances."

He laughs quietly. "Regina, I have disturbing enough things to think about without worrying about that. Besides, I hardly think we need to worry about it. Surely, if that were the case, somehow, we would've known it by now."

"Don't be so sure. I have a sister I didn't know existed for the first 30 - plus years of my life. It's entirely possible I have other relatives I don't know about. Come to think of it, possibly even other siblings. Well, half-siblings. Maybe even some who are younger than me. Mother wasn't exactly – fond - of Daddy. It's not at all difficult for me to imagine she didn't take 'til death do us part.' seriously.

"Eh, come on." Robin says, still trying to keep the mood light. "She must've liked him at least a little bit. Otherwise, where did you come from." His blue eyes twinkle as he arches an eyebrow.

Closing the file cabinet drawer after a thorough search and coming up empty handed, she puts her hands on her hips as she looks around the room deciding where to try next. "Careful Robin. Don't romanticize my existence. For one thing, the thought of Mother and Daddy snuggled up together in each other's arms makes me nauseous. And that fact has nothing at all to do with sexual naiveté where my parents are concerned. It's just, the thought of the two of them together that way has all the warmth and sexual appeal of sandpaper against tender flesh. she treated him despicably. Her marriage to him was the price she paid for power and glory, and she made sure he knew it; every chance she got. I was a means to an end; and nothing more. Well, at least for Mother anyway. She simply wanted to secure Daddy's future connection to the throne; thereby securing her own as his wife. He needed an heir; which meant she needed one. She did what she had to do to make that happen. It's as cut and dried as that. Though, I guess, in one way, I did get lucky. Most monarchs, particularly male monarchs, seem to prefer male children. If Daddy were guilty of that particular bias, I think mother would have been supremely displeased with my arrival. However, Daddy didn't care one bit that I wasn't a boy. He was devoted to me; adored me from day one."

"Well, of course, how could he not."

"I didn't deserve it. I certainly didn't earn it."

"It's not something one should have to earn. It should be a given. Every child, regardless of gender, should have a father who loves them unconditionally."

Regina scoffs quietly; not quite able to it hold in, and Robin watches her struggle to be kind. He watches her do battle with the impulse to roll her eyes. Choosing instead, to collect her thoughts before speaking again, she buys a moment's time by sitting down in her chair, crossing her legs, and propping her chin in her hand. She stalls for a second longer by forcing herself to continue thinking about her search before she offers him a wry smile.

"Thanks a lot!" She announces with sass, trying to take some of the sting out of her next words. "Now I can't even be annoyed with you for unintentionally dragging me down here after you, when you were too busy chasing after her to listen to me because that's not fair of me. Wait, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that. You weren't chasing her. I know. You are chasing your child - If it is your child. Daddy would've done the same thing if he were the one stuck in this mess. He would've done that for me, or anyone else he thought could have possibly been his child."

Robin moves around the desk, kneeling before her, only taking his hands out of his pockets to take hold of hers. "It's okay to be annoyed, Regina. I can take it."

Shaking her head, she squeezes his hands affectionately. "You shouldn't have to take it, Robin. You're just trying to do the right thing. This awful situation is not your fault. None of this is your fault."

"I'm not so sure about that. It bloody well feels like my fault."

"Well, it's not! Don't you dare start blaming yourself for this." Regina declares with more force than she intended.

Surprised by the sudden sharp change in her tone he studies her a moment before acknowledging, "You're more than annoyed. You're angry."

Regina is up and out of her chair like a shot; gently pushing past him so she can pace in agitation a few feet away. "I am not!" She denies hotly. "I'm not angry. I am livid! Absolutely livid!"

At a loss, he tries sincerely. "I'm sorry Regina."

She stops pacing and whirls to face him with her hands on her hips. "Damn it, Robin! Stop it! Don't do that! Don't apologize! I'm not mad at you! Stop acting like you've done something wrong. You have nothing to apologize for. It's not your fault!" She shouts.

He squints as if he's not sure what she says is true. "If you're not angry with me, then why are you shouting at me?"

"Because you're here!" She declares honestly and then slowly, gradually, because she knows she's being unfair, she forces herself to lower her own voice. "I can't yell at her! I can't even find her! But Robin, please don't do that to yourself, because you blaming yourself - that does make me mad at you. If you want to blame somebody for this, then blame the bitch responsible." Regina's voice is nothing more than a whisper by the time she's done speaking. "She did this. Not you."

He waits for her to pull in a deep breath and deliberately count to five in her head before releasing it. When he's certain she's not going to start up again, he asks calmly, "Done?"

"Maybe; maybe not. I don't know. I'm not mad at you. I just…"

"Need somebody to shout at?"

She nods. "Before I..."

"Come completely unhinged?"

"You could yell back; you know?" She says, with contrition.

Robin chuckles quietly as he approaches once more and wraps his arms around her; holding her close to him so she can feel his breath in her hair as he asks softly, "What would be the point in that?"

Folding her arms around him, and nestling as close as possible, she shrugs and whispers. "Might make me feel like less of a witch, or at least make me feel justified for being one."

"Ahh… but I don't want to shout at you."

"We should go find my sister… and yell at her."

"Your mother told us to stay here. Right here in this room." He glances down at her and kisses her temple as he issues the reminder."

Regina scoffs. "I don't care. She's up to something."

"She is?"

"She's breathing, isn't she? Oh wait." Regina wrinkles her nose. "I guess she's not! And what do you know, she's still up to something!"

"How do you know?"

"Because, she's irritated with me for being here. But she doesn't want me to know that. She tried to hide it." Regina repeats with even more certainty, "She's up to something."

"Do you want to go find out what that might be." He asks with his chin resting lightly against the top of her head.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. My life has been so much less complicated since her… departure. And every time I get involved with her things go – wrong; just plain wrong."

"Alright, well…"

He stops short when he feels the same warm, glowing, sensation he felt a short time ago while she was healing his wounds. Only this time the sensation is tenderly invading his chest. Leaning back in her embrace he glances down to find her hand resting over his heart and glowing with a soft brilliance. The longer her hand remains, the more piercing the sensation becomes. There's nothing at all painful about it. It's just pure and glorious, but for some reason he's not quite able to define at first, the sheer unrestrained power of it nearly rocks him to his knees, as it brings traces of moisture to his eyes. _What is that?_ He wonders silently the instant before he finds the answer in her eyes. _It's her love… Her love for me."_

"Regina?" he whispers; nearly breathless.

"Shh." She whispers back as he watches her own eyes fill with unshed tears. "Don't move. Almost done. It won't hurt. I promise."

He smiles. "I know you won't hurt me, but... does it work both ways? Can you feel it too? Feel it reciprocated?"

She smiles sweetly but doesn't say anything; at least not verbally. He doesn't need her to. His heart hears hers.

When it's over, neither of them moves for an interminable moment. They simply hold each other.

"We have to get out of here Robin." She whispers at length. "We have to go home so we can live our life together. I refuse to stay here in this desolate, barren place where nothing can grow, nothing can thrive."

"Okay. I'm open to suggestions. How do you want to accomplish that? But first… What made you decide to do that just now?" He softly covers the hand still resting over his heart with his own.

"Are you kidding? You really need to ask? Three quarters of the hearts in my vault belong on her, Robin. That is to say, she snatched of them. I have no idea who they belonged to."

"Your mother?" He inquires gently.

"The Queen of Hearts." She affirms dryly.

"That particular phrase has never sounded more insidious in my life."

"It's never needed to, but don't worry. I'm not going to let her hurt you. I'm not going to let her do to you what she did to Daniel. I won't even give her the chance. Not her, or Zelena."

"Zelena? You really think she'd go that far?"

"It does run in the family, Robin." She grimaces answering drolly as she finally chooses to step out of his arms. "Doesn't matter though. Not anymore. Now, no one can steal your heart."

He raises an eyebrow and flashes his smile. "No one; not even you?"

"No need to steal it…"

"It's already been given to you." He echoes the sweet memory as it fills both their minds.

She resumes her search of the office and he feels compelled to offer once more, "If you tell me what you're looking for, I'll help. I promise I won't touch anything unless you tell me it's okay."

"I'm looking for the Apprentice's Wand. I don't understand. If things are the same down here as they are up there, it should be in that desk drawer." She points. "But it's not."

Robin grins as he reaches into a jacket pocket. "That's because it's right here, mi'lady."

Mildly confused and equally excited, Regina gently snatches the wand from his grasp. "You had it? The whole time I was searching for it?"

"Afraid so, my love. I wasn't trying to be difficult though. I didn't know what you are looking for. You never answered when I asked that particular question."

"But Robin, how did you get it? The box I keep it in is locked with blood magic."

He shrugs. I didn't take it from the box. I stole it from your sister - back in Storybrooke right before we fell through that bloody portal and landed down here."

"I can't believe I forgot about that!"

"Well, we have had a busy evening." He chuckles.

Coming up on her toes, she kisses him quickly and firmly on the mouth. "You're a genius!"

"Ahem, on the contrary, Madam. I am merely a thief."

She shakes her head in wonder. "Robin, there's nothing mere about you; nothing at all. Come on let's see if this thing works down here. If it does, we'll go find Zelena, and go home."

Only too happy to do so, he places his hand in hers and allows himself to be led out of the office. Outside, still hand in hand, he trails a half step behind her as she trots across the street to the park.

In a wide- open area, she lifts the wand overhead, but before she can use it, Robin stops her gently with a hand on her wrist. "What if somebody hijacks a ride? Somebody that's supposed to be here?"

"They can't. Their tethered here. They can only go one of two places. For them, going back is not an option."

"Okay, but are you quite certain you want to go to Oz?"

Regina laughs scornfully. "What? The land of munchkins, poppies, and flying monkeys? No Robin! I definitely do not want to go to Oz, but the alternative is…" She spreads her arms wide gesturing to the underworld around them.

"Right then. Point taken." He's takes a step back for safety's sake and gestures; rolling his wrist in a flourish. "Carry on, Mi'lady."

Regina lifts the wand once more, pointing it toward the red and dreary sky. Dark clouds roll in, the wind picks up, and high overhead the old familiar green cyclone does appear. The ground rumbles violently beneath their feet as the twister touches down, but the moment it makes contact with the earth, both Robin and Regina are blown backward by an unexpected shockwave despite the fact they are still some distance away. Stubbornly, Regina tries to get up, only to be knocked down again. Growling in frustration, she holds tight to the wand, and waves it again in defeat. Only after the cyclone disappears completely are they able to pick themselves up off the ground.

"Damn! It's not going to work! We must be tethered, too."

"Regina!" Robin cries out as black smoke rises from the hole that suddenly materializes in the ground beneath her feet. He dives after her, and because she is unable to stop what is happening, she clings to him; unwilling to lose him.

Expecting a hard landing, she is shocked when her feet touch down lightly on a hard, smooth, polished, surface with Robin at her side.

Dazed and alarmed, they both reach for the security of the other's hand as they suddenly find themselves to be in the presence of Hades.

* * *

The dark god is eyeing them both, shaking his head, and clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth in a disapproving fashion.

Before he speaks, he silences an alarm with nothing more than the mere flick of an index finger. In the seconds before the offensive noise from the siren dies down, Robin reasons that it must be some kind of reverse security system; meant to keep people in, instead of out. The moment they attempted to open the portal to Oz, it no doubt sounded and notified Hades of their location.

"Regina, I'm disappointed in you. I thought you knew better than to try such a foolish thing." Hades declares without leaving his throne.

Stunned speechless, thanks to the sight before her, Regina says nothing. She simply stares. It doesn't compute. There's her mother - there's Zelena. Both women wear expressions of shock. And Regina is quite certain that the shock they're experiencing has absolutely nothing to do with her or Robin's sudden arrival.

"Well, since you're here, do come in. Join the reunion. I was a quite literally just making introductions."

Both Regina and Robin swivel their gazes back and forth between the two women until, seemingly in the same moment, something occurs to each of them. Zelena wears the expression of a pampered feline perched in its master's lap. She and Hades look as if they're on the verge of both extreme satisfaction and cruel frustration all at the same time. The penny drops and before Regina takes time to filter, she exclaims, "Ugh! Zelena! Him? Really?"

"I really must agree." Cora speaks up. I don't know what's happened to either of you girls. I go and do a simple little thing – like die, and you two just let yourselves go. Regina, I told you to stay in the office! I told you to put the thief's things down! You are not his personal valet. I raised you for better things."

"I heard what you told me mother. I just made up my mind to do otherwise. I haven't forgotten. I know exactly who I am; and so does Robin."

With her hands on her hips, Cora glares at the younger of her two daughters before moving on to the elder. "And you -if you aren't going to get up from there, then do us all a favor and attend to your blouse."

Despite the hostility evident in her eyes, Zelena does glance down and shift her rumpled blouse into a less revealing position. "You don't get to speak to me in a tone of voice, Mother dear. You gave up your right to be so maternal with me the moment you decided to toss me into a basket and leave me in the path of a cyclone. What's the matter? Are you jealous? From all I've learned about you, you have a habit for seeking out the greatest power, wherever you happen to be, and aligning yourself with it. Beat you to it; did I?"

Cora cringes in disgust. "Zelena don't be vulgar! It's unbecoming darling."

"Let's clear up a few things; shall we? First, I will be anything I like. Second, I am not your darling."

Regina takes a step back, and Robin follows without the need of her gentle tug on his hand. They are halfway across the floor before a wall of fire suddenly appears before them. Regina jumps back just in time to avoid being roasted; pulling Robin to safety with her.

Hades queries, "Where do you two think you're going?"

"I thought we'd just show ourselves out. I have no interest in witnessing the cat fight that's about to take place."

"Nor do I." Robin concurs.

Zelena laughs snidely. "You're just going to leave me here with our mother?"

Regina shrugs and offers only antagonism. Hey, you wanted to be the oldest. It's all yours now. Go for it, Greenie!"

Hades interrupts before the squabble can go further. "Fine, go if you like. But you won't be leaving here. At least, not tonight anyway." He snaps his fingers and the wall of flames disappears and is replaced by the holographic image of two upright tombstones. These are in the cemetery. As you can see, they've been carved. You won't be leaving here until you can figure out how to get your names off them. But I warn you, stones that lay flat, set face up in the ground, they mark the names of those who have passed on to a better place. Tombstones that stand upright as yours do, but are cracked, they represent leaving this place for one that is far less agreeable. Stones precisely like your own, as you might guess, stand in representation for those who are currently here – and cannot yet leave. I therefore, suggest that you handle yours with care." He snaps his fingers again and all images and obstacles in their path vanish from sight and the door opens. He waves as if he's bored by their presence. "Good luck!" He calls archly.

Hand on the doorknob, Robin stops and turns. "She's pregnant."

Cora silently cringes at the announcement while Hades smiles darkly "I'm well aware."

"Don't hurt her."

"I have no intention of doing so. Her continued suffering holds no interest for me."

Robin addresses Zelena directly. "Will you come with us?"

"Come with you? What for?"

Regina steps into the conversation once more. "So. we can make certain that that you and the baby are safe, Zelena."

"If you are so worried about me, take this cuff of my wrist."

Regina shakes her head. It won't do you any good anyway. Magic is a tad different down here."

Zelena's laughter is unsettling. "Oh, I know. This isn't my first visit either."

"How can you trust that the baby is safe with him." Robin inquires as he catches sight of something in his peripheral vision. Something resting on an inlaid shelf just to the right of the door that makes his blood run cold and leaves a wretched feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Stepping over, he quickly palms a delicate bracelet with its single charm; a lion cub cast in gold. He examines it more closely and then holds it out, putting it on display for all who are present to see. For the first time ever, Regina sees pure rage fill the eyes of the man she loves.

"Where did you get this?" Robin demands in a voice Regina has never heard before.

Hades says nothing. He simply shrugs.

"Answer me! Where… did you… get this bracelet?"

"Judging by your tone, I think you know." Hades smiles coldly.

Robin's voice is hard; unrelenting. "She was here?"

Hades gives a small almost imperceptible nod. "She was."

"Is she here now?"

"No, she moved on rather quickly. She was here less than a day. I must say. I misjudged her. She looked like such a meek little thing, but she had chops enough to tell me, to my face, that she didn't care for me or my place."

"You took this from her. She wouldn't have given it up voluntarily."

Hades shrugs again.

"Why? Why would you do that? He looks around the room at the finery. This bracelet isn't anywhere near your standards. Why would you want this?"

"I didn't take it."

Regina moves closer to Robin and puts an arm around him. She can feel him trembling in fury as he studies the bracelet once more, and then he gives Zelena a purely murderous look. "You! You took it from her. You stole it from her to make your sick little farce believable."

Zelena touches her own chest, as if to ask, "Who me?"

Cora looks on at a loss; with no frame of reference for the conversation that is taking place. She glances at Regina, silently asking for help. Regina, in turn, refuses to enlighten her; just as silently.

"Don't even bother to deny it!" Robin shouts. "You were wearing it two months ago when we arrived in New York. I remember because… because I was glad to see it. I was happy to think she still had it! I gave it to her the day Roland was born. How dare you! How dare you take this from Marian!"

Zelena smiles at him as if she's playing a simple little game of no consequence and says simply, "Oops."

Robin lunges for her. Hades raises a hand, but before he can do Robin mortal harm, Regina jumps in between them, knocking Robin to the ground, as she narrowly ducks the blast of dark magic that lightly grazes her left temple. In turn, she let's go of a ferocious flash of pure light magic that knocks the goblet of wine out of the hand not raised against Robin and sends the fine crystal crashing to the floor. The same blast also manages to finally dislodge her sister from the Dark Lord's lap.

"Regina, No!" Zelena screams as she scrambles away. She trembles with uncontainable fury when she realizes that she has no magical ability to retaliate. "Don't hurt him!"

Hades stares at Regina, dumbfounded beyond all capacity for speech. Next, he stares at his bleeding hand, equally dumbfounded. This can't be happening! White magic? This powerful? From Regina! Zelena neglected to mention that she was this strong. No one has drawn his blood for more than a century!

Regina laughs wildly. "Don't hurt him? Don't hurt him? You aren't actually asking for mercy - from me. After what you've done? You steal from his wife, you take her life, you try to take her place, you take him from me, and then you use him to impregnate yourself! All because you're mad at me for something I had absolutely no control over! You want to be mad at somebody… Blame her." Regina points at Cora aggressively. "She's responsible. Not me - and not Robin. Hades, I swear - No, I promise. You take another shot at him - you probably will kill me, but I promise you, I will destroy everything in this place before I go! And that includes her!" she nods her head in Zelena's direction.

Next, several things happen all at once. Robin realizes that Regina's forehead is bleeding. He gets up, and steps close, attempting to have a better look at the injury. She roughly pushes his hand away. I'm fine. Don't get in my way. I don't want to hurt you. Stay behind me where it's safer.

Cora calls her name. "Regina?"

"I've got this, Mother! Pick a side if you like, but I suggest you stay out of my way."

And Zelena cries out above it all. "No, Regina! Don't! Please. It wasn't real, okay. It didn't really happen. He just thinks it did!"

"Regina!" Cora repeats; wholly unaccustomed to being ignored by her daughter. Mistakenly, she reaches for Regina's arm and Regina zaps her with a low-intensity pulse that is still strong enough to knock her off her feet.

"Have a seat mother."

Cora stares up from the floor aghast.

"I did tell you not to get in my way." Regina hisses the instant before she swings the bulk of her attention back around to her sister. "What the hell do you mean it wasn't real? What didn't happen?"

"Me and him." Zelena gestures toward Robin. "It's just a false memory."

It takes a moment for the penny to drop, but then Regina scoffs and Robin scowls. "You don't really expect us to believe that? They ask in harmony with one another.

She nods beseechingly. "It's true. I swear. Ask Hades. He helped me learn how to do it. He taught me."

Hades simply nods, and Regina feels as if she's going to retch. She feels as if she's being literally torn in two. She looks at Robin and she knows instinctively that the confusion, pain, anger, and loss that she sees in his eyes is mirrored in her own.

"It wasn't enough for you to mess with his body? You had to mess with his mind too?"

"Only his mind… And only a little. It's just one implanted memory. Not his body. Not at all. It's true that I tried - more than once. He wouldn't, or he couldn't. But, well, I had to do something. I was running out of time."

"Running out of time? What the hell do you mean, you were running out of time? He thought you were his wife? You could've gone on indefinitely."

"No." Zelena shouts; half begging, half demanding to be heard. "I was already pregnant when we left for New York. -The baby is ours. She belongs to Hades and me - any longer and it wouldn't have been convincing. It would have all fallen apart before I wanted it to. Regina, why do you think I went to the trouble of escaping - cutting off my own hand? You started talking about ultrasounds, due dates, and paternity tests. When I wanted Snow and Charming's baby – when they thought I was a midwife, nobody ever said anything about paternity tests. I didn't know they could do that."

Regina throws up her hands in anger and disgust. "Zelena, you idiot! That's because, in their case, there's no need for a paternity test. In the entire town of Storybrooke, there isn't a single doubt in anyone's mind about who Neal's father is. Snow doesn't run around on Charming like some hell-bent, horny, little wood nymph!"

Still feeling as if she's splitting apart, as if there is lightning in her veins, Regina doesn't know whether to laugh at the absurdity of it all or blow the underworld out of existence. And, she knows she could do it too. Knows it all the way to her core. She could wipe this horrid place from existence.

She looks at her own hands and what she sees there terrifies her beyond the capacity for rational thought. In the palm of her left hand light energy glows brilliantly, bouncing slightly, waiting to be released. In the palm of her right, darkness roils, and threatens to consume all that it touches. For one horrifying flicker in time it threatens to consume her all over again; and then Robin is there in front of her. Right in front of her, so that he is all she can see. He shakes his head solemnly and though he doesn't speak, she hears him. "Please don't. Don't leave me, Regina. Not now."

Helpless to deny the request, she nods mutely.

When he reaches for her hands with absolutely no fear, she flinches and pulls away, not trusting herself with his safety. "Don't touch me! She whispers raggedly.

Refusing to be rebuffed, or scared away, Robin slowly places one of his hands in each of hers, "See, I'm fine. You won't hurt me. Let's just walk out the door. It's over, Regina. Let's just find a way home."


	2. Part 2: The Light To Find The Shadows

**Part II: The Light To Find The Shadows**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Shadow Casting**

Out of the lair, and above ground once again, the last tendrils of what passes for daylight in this unholy place stroke their way across the rapidly darkening, errie red sky. A full moon is ascending and will be high overhead in no time at all. They walk slowly and quietly, hand in hand, with no destination in mind.

Robin is uncomfortable with his own self-restraint. He's nearly bursting with the desire to say something; anything. Everything has changed. Despite a memory in his head that he has come to find utterly rancid in the last few days, if Zelena is to be believed, no such event ever happened. He no longer has to feel as if he has been defiled, tainted, or that he needs to be ashamed of himself. It never happened, and there's no baby. Well, at least there's not one that he must personally claim responsibility for.

He wants to talk, but Regina needs quiet. He senses it. She's a silent as a stone. She hadn't said a word, not a single word, since she explained to her sister why Snow and Charming didn't need a paternity test for their son. On the surface, she appears as calm and undisturbed as a glass of water. Below, he knows there's a storm-tossed current trying to consume her. He also knows that she is beyond tired. She is bone weary. Even a simple act of talking would require the use of energy she is trying to conserve. She needs quiet; for a reason that have nothing to do with why he wants to talk. He can wait. He holds her hand quietly and lets her walk wherever she will.

She's not really going anywhere in particular. She's just wandering aimlessly… Until she isn't. They're just walking along until suddenly, with no warning at all, she stops and looks around as if she has unexpectedly found herself to be lost. She makes meaningful eye contact, but says nothing for a long heavy beat, and then she glances around, trying to get her bearings. She does a complete 180° turn, walks a dozen steps, and then changes her mind, turns again and resumes their original path. Though she never says a word, Robin is not surprised when they soon find themselves wandering, not quite so aimlessly, through the cemetery. It doesn't take her long to find the two grave markers standing side by side that tether them to this unhallowed place. For two interminable minutes, she simply stands and stares at her own headstone. He knows she's trying to make a decision, and when she does make that decision, he knows it shouldn't have been a surprise to him. Yet, somehow it is.

Tugging gently at his hand, she backs him up a safe distance from the grave markers and tries to call forth a little black magic. She has to try more than once to raise even a minuscule amount of her darker power. Though she managed to call it forth in Hades' private chamber; she was incensed at the time, and not fully in control of her emotions. Things are calmer now, out here in the graveyard. Without the heightened emotions, the underworld god's collective has the greater claim on her darkness. Stubbornly, she tries a few more times before groaning in frustration. Finally, as though she is surrendering to the inevitable, she forces herself to relax. She breathes deeply, rolls her neck side to side, widens her stance ever so slightly, and sets her shoulders in preparation.

The stream of a light magic she looses, meets with the tombstone and holds steady for a 3-second beat before it intensifies wildly, rebounds, and lifts her off the ground to send her flying a good ten feet. She lands on her back and narrowly misses cracking her skull on another upgrade tombstone. As hard as it is for him to watch, Robin expected something like this might happen, given her current mental state. This is not what surprises him. The part that stuns him comes after he walks over and offers her a hand; pulling her gently back to her feet.

Without speaking a single word, she stomps forward and delivers a resounding kick to the tombstone with the Mills family crest emblazoned upon it. Moving quickly, he rushes after her. "Hey love, let's not do that!"

She silently, but emphatically, shakes her arm free of his tender grasp and in frustration, she prepares for another kick. However, before she can connect, he wraps his arms around her waist, lifts her feet off the ground and hauls her backward, out of range. Struggling, she silently attempts to free herself, but he holds tight until he can turn her to face him.

He takes her by the shoulders. Holding her firmly in place, he claims and holds her gaze. "No! Regina," He insists firmly and a bit louder than he intended. "No! Stop! Enough! I realize you're not actually buried there, but watching you assault the tombstone that bears the name of the woman I love… That's just disturbing! Stop! You keep this up, and one of two things is going to happen. One, you're going to break your own toes. Toes I might add, I'm quite fond of. And God only knows who runs the hospital in this forsaken place. Instead of Frankenstein, it might actually be his monster! I don't want him patching you up! Two, I hope Hades is a decent stone crafter, because if he's not, you might actually crack that bloody thing! I will follow you anywhere Regina, absolutely anywhere! But, we're having a hard enough time getting home from this place. If the choice is there, I'd really rather not have to figure out how to get home from Hell. I don't literally want to be able to say that we've taken this relationship all the way to Hell and back. On the surface that sounds rather awesome, but truthfully, all it really means is that you've been through enough rubbish for ten lifetimes; let alone one. So, I repeat, let's not do that!"

He waits for a response.

"Regina?" He inquires, lowering his voice to a much softer decibel.

"Okay." She finally whispers.

"Okay?" He asks; seeking certainty.

She nods. "You can let go now. I'm okay. I'll stop."

He lets go of her shoulders and reaches for her hand. She obliges, threading her fingers through his and by tacit understanding, they resume their stroll through the cemetery; reading markers.

Occasionally, she lets go of his hand and wanders a few feet away. It's never for long though. Each time she does it, she returns within minutes and slips her hand back into his. On one such solitary excursion, he looks her way surprised to hear her softly call his name. Quickly moving to her side, he looks down and realizes why she called out to him. As he kneels, and brushes leaves away from the surface of his wife's inlaid headstone, Regina gently squeezes his shoulder and quietly steps away; giving him some privacy.

Fifteen minutes later, he looks for, and approaches her with discretion. He finds her alone, kneeling before a different grave and it's no surprise to Robin when moonlight reveals the name of Daniel Coulter. He stays a polite distance away until she inhales deeply enough to make her shoulders rise and fall and offers him a slight but inviting nod. Before moving his way and tucking herself into the warmth of his embrace, she presses her fingertips to her own lips and softly caresses the simple, unembellished grave marker of her stable boy.

Each of them appropriately subdued by their visits, they walk, arm in arm, toward the cemetery's entrance. When she catches him studying her face intently, she raises an eyebrow.

"You're about to drop from exhaustion., Regina." He acknowledges the fact quietly. "What do you say we find a place to bed down for the night, and start fresh tomorrow?"

She nods, without the necessary strength to offer up any sort of argument, in spite of the fact that the last thing she wants do is waste time on something as frivolous as sleeping. "We're not going to my place. I'm sure Mother has commandeered it. I can't deal with her. Not now. Not tonight."

He rubs the shoulder around which his arm is wrapped. "I can pitch a tent anywhere, but it won't be as nice as the one you slept in last night." He admits honestly, sounding somewhat apologetic.

"Was that only last night?" Her chest rises and falls with the weight of her deep sigh. "Robin, it feels like a decade has passed since last night. And the next tent doesn't have to be nice. I'm too tired to care. I just want to stop." She admits, sounding soft, far away, and sleepy.

"Stop what?"

"Just stop… Everything."

Then she does stop. She stops in her tracks only three rows away from the cemetery gates. Her mouth falls open the instant before her hand covers it. She closes her eyes and tears instantly slide from beneath her lashes. Turning into Robin's embrace, she hides her face in his shirt front.

Robin is momentarily at a loss until he catches sight of one of the cemetery's larger, more ornate, grave markers. Understanding and shared pain wash through him as he tightens his embrace; cradling her when a wave of grief, that is made new and raw by the unanticipated sight of her father's upright marble headstone, shutters through her body.

Regina shakes her head against his shoulder and her quiet sobs tear at his heart. "Oh Daddy… No!"

"Shh, sweetheart." Robin rubs her back.

"Why is he here? She questions mournfully; not really expecting an answer. "Robin, he shouldn't be here. Not here … In this horrible place. Not Daddy. He…"

"Shh." He repeats gently. Unable to do anything else, he holds her tight and kisses the top of her head. "We'll find him – tomorrow, okay?"

Regina stubbornly shakes her head and leans back in his arms, gently pushing herself away from his chest. "I can't wait. Robin, I have to find him! Now!"

"Regina, Love, what are the odds that this place gets less unappealing after dark. In broad daylight, the vandals are out. And, you're literally about to fall over you're so tired. What are you going to do search the entire underworld randomly?"

"If I have to!" She answers in defiance.

Robin gently wipes tears from her face with the pad of his thumbs. "What would he have to say about that? Would he want you out here, after dark, traipsing around in this place, searching for him when you're so near to collapse. It's late. Let me find us a place to get some rest. We'll start fresh in daylight; when it's likely to be safer. No matter what happens, we won't leave until we find him."

Again, she shakes her head, but there is noticeable less conviction in the act than before. "I'll go find mother and make her tell me where he is."

"I thought you didn't want to deal with your mother tonight?

"That was before I knew Daddy was here."

"Okay, but let's think about this for a minute. Is she likely to know where he's at?"

Stubbornly Regina tries to persist, until even she knows she can't. At length, she finally admits, "That's highly unlikely." She sniffles softly. "Daddy's dead. Well, Mother is too, but the point is, there's nothing he can offer her anymore. There's nothing she can take from him. So, I'm sure she's discarded him completely." At last, she gives in to reason. "First thing tomorrow." She yawns.

Robin keeps her close as they set out again. He heads for the outskirts of the forest and soon thinks better of his tent pitching plan. In this rotten place, he'd like to sleep somewhere with a bit more security than one can find within the nylon walls of the tent.

The first place that comes to mind is the last place he felt peace today; the old apple barn. If it's here, at least it will provide them with four walls and roof.

The farther they walk; the slower Regina moves. Just about the time that the old barn comes into sight, he realizes that she may still be standing upright, but the only reason she's still moving is because he is, and that if he weren't guiding her, she'd be in serious trouble. She's only a quarter step away from sleepwalking. He stops and relieves her of his knapsack and weaponry. After shouldering both himself, he catches her behind the knees and lifts her feet off the ground. She murmurs softly, but instantly folds herself into his arms.

When he's close enough to see the old place clearly in the moonlight, something strikes him as being odd. The place looks slightly less weather-beaten, slightly less run down, as it maybe it has been fixed up more recently than its counterpart in Storybrooke, and then fallen into a state of disrepair again. The carriage house looks to be in better shape as well; closed in, without the missing doors and windows or the hole and the roof.

Grateful when he finds the front door to the sound but also unlocked, he struggles with the effort to open it without depositing Regina on the wooden bench seat that he doesn't remember being on the front porch in Storybrooke. When he can, he sticks one booted foot in the doorway, and gently kicks it open. Once Inside, he stands in the alcove just beyond the front door and marvels at the differences between the place he remembers and this place. Although a fine layer of dust has settled over everything, and the place has obviously stood empty for too long, it also looks lived in. It's been completely renovated from the inside out. It's been fully furnished and made into a home. He walks into the center of the great room with Regina still nestled in his arms and turns a slow circle. The furniture and décor speak of an obvious contrast between the house's inhabitants, yet somehow, everything blends together. Spotting picture frames on one of the room's end tables, he steps closer to investigate and finds himself staring at intimately familiar faces in the pictures those frames hold.

Nodding to no one but himself, he smiles as Regina stirs slightly in his arms.

Barely opening her eyes before they drift shut again, she murmurs sleepily, "Where are we, Robin? What is this place?"

"Shh… Regina. Go back to sleep. We're home."

She smiles sweetly and mumbles something he can't quite make out just before slipping into an impossibly deep sleep that he doesn't yet know she won't wake from until two full nights have come and gone. Slowly, he carries her up the winding staircase in search of their bedroom.

Once it's found, he lays her down and drops his knapsack and shooting gear in an out of the way corner before he gently removes her jacket and her boots. Tucking her into bed, he's careful to pull the down comforter all the way to the foot of the bed, leaving it folded over the footboard because, like everything else in the house, it too, is covered in a fine patina of dust. However, it provided a layer of protection for the sheets and blankets below.

It doesn't take him long to realize that the house is without electricity or running water, but, it's not as if they plan to stay for an extended visit. Under the circumstances, the house will do finely, in comparison with any tent, or other forest lodgings he could provide. He finds relatively clean, dust free, linens inside a closet in the master bath. He does the best he can to wipe the wound on Regina's forehead clean with a dry cloth. While he's doing it, she flinches once in her sleep, but whatever discomfort he causes, it's not enough to rouse her. Tomorrow, he'll have to find water, but for now, with Regina sleeping soundly, he decides to wander through their home and acquaint himself with the place before sleeping himself.

Returning to the lower floor, he wanders about, pulling dust covers off furniture and recognizing quite a few objects as belonging either to her or to him. The fact that the place is just standing here in the underworld, apparently waiting for them, is more than a bit unsettling, but since there's nothing he can do about it, he does what he can to push the thought out of his mind.

When they had visited the barn in Storybrooke, the focal point of the great room had been the enormous fireplace, but as he pulls a drop cloth down from its place along an expanse of wall opposite the fireplace, he realizes that has changed.

Lost in wonder he stares at what he sees; scarcely aware that he's stopped moving, or for that matter, even breathing, until his brain cries out for oxygen. Inhaling deeply, he allows his fingertips to caress a beautifully rendered, and massive woodcarving. In it, the image of an ancient apple tree houses their joined family tree. Sweet seeded plump red fruits bare names and dates, and occasionally when warranted, an apple will bear an additional image synonymous with the person listed there. The apple associated with Regina's name displays a smaller image of the family crest he saw earlier in the graveyard. Young Henry's apple bears, within it, an additional carving of a writer's quill. Robin also finds his own place on the tree accompanied by the images of an arrow and a surprisingly good rendering of the tattoo on his wrist. Roland, and even Marian, have their places as well, but what makes this breathtaking tree all the sweeter is that it doesn't just include the names of blood related family. Most likely, because they are all connected through Regina's son, the names of members of his biological family are listed here in equal standing. The branches of the tree take up nearly the entire length and width of the wall and Robin literally has to step back and lift his chin to read the names on the uppermost branches. A carving of this magnitude would take months to complete, possibly even a year or two -and a scaffold. There's no way anyone could comfortably complete such a grand task as this standing on the thin rungs of a ladder. The detail in each individual leaf is incomparable. The longer he stares, the more astounding it becomes. However, nothing could possibly prepare him for the greatest surprise of all. On a branch of the artwork that directly links his and Regina's names, he finds another name. A child. A child whose birthdate has yet to arrive, and he can't keep the smile off his face when he realizes that she is clearly named in honor of it, not just one, but two of her ancestors.

All the proof he needs is right here, literally carved into the wall. "It's going to be okay. We'll make it home, Regina. We're going home. We've got a few things left to do." He voices his thoughts to the empty room around him.

Caught talking to her as if she were standing here beside him, and not upstairs in the bed asleep, he jumps, turning wildly, in response to an unexpected, late night, knock at the front door.

For a moment, he's tempted to return upstairs to retrieve his bow before answering the door, but two steps in that direction and another knock sounds. It strikes him is ironic that the knock should sound urgent and yet patient all at the same time. Deciding that anyone who wished to do them harm would be unlikely to knock patiently, he crosses the room and opens the door to find a stranger waiting there.

The older man looks Robin over with an odd mix of curiosity and acceptance in his astute gaze. Tossing his cloak over one shoulder and removing his riding gloves, he offers to shake hands. "Robin of Locksley?"

"Yes." Robin answers; returning his firm handshake.

"Henry Mills. May I come in please?"

Robin opens the door wider. "Yes, of course, Your Majesty."

Stepping over the threshold, the senior man smiles in gratitude, but shakes his head. "None of that, if you please. I never wanted to king. It was forced upon me. Henry will suffice."

Robin smiles; instantly liking the man a great deal more than his wife. "Very well, Henry it is, then."

"I apologize for the lateness of the hour but…" He stops short when Robin waves the rest of his comment aside.

"That doesn't matter. Regina will be relieved you've come. Have a seat, make yourself comfortable. I'll go wake her."

As he removes his cloak, folding it over the back of the offered chair before taking his seat, her father stops Robin with a hand to the arm. "She's sleeping?"

"Yes sir, she is, but she was highly upset tonight when she unexpectedly came across your grave marker in the cemetery. It has been explained to us that upright headstones are used to signify when a person is still tethered to this place. Your presence here - It was an unexpected shock.

"I know Cora saw the two of you earlier today. She didn't give Regina any warning; didn't try to prepare her at all?"

"I'm afraid not Henry."

"I shouldn't be surprised but damn her. I understand things became quite heated with Hades earlier this evening. Is my daughter alright?"

Robin shrugs slightly. "Physically she's not seriously injured. There's nothing that won't heal, but I'm worried about her. I'm not sure she's alright emotionally. Immediately after the confrontation, she was entirely too quiet. She's excessively tired. There's no doubt than what she experienced drained her. Even if she hadn't unexpectedly come across your grave - she was in a heightened emotional state even before that. Hades said that if we wanted to go home, we would have to get our names off our own tombstones. She seems to have an almost nonexistent ability to utilize dark magic here except for when in the throes of extreme emotion. Her newly acquired light powers - well, I thought she was getting some control over them, but since we arrived down here - I don't know Henry. It seems to me they've become amplified."

Regina's father holds up a hand silently, indicating that Robin should stop for a moment. "Cora said Regina can use light magic. I didn't know whether to believe her or not. It's true then?"

Robin nods in the affirmative. "it is indeed. It's still new to her. She still trying to get a handle on it, but she did it for the first time a few months ago when she stopped her sister Zelena from taking Mary Margaret and David's newborn boy and using him as a sacrifice for a time traveling spell… Eh… Sorry. Mary Margaret and David; they are Snow and Charming from our world."

Henry shakes his head and forces himself to wait for a clarification. "You're saying my girl was rescuing Snow White's child from certain death?"

"She was." Robin answers simply. He's not the least bit surprised when a tear slips, unchecked, down the man's face.

"Thank you for telling me that. You have no idea how happy you just made a very old man.

Robin chuckles softly. "It made me rather happy too, sir."

"But, things are – amplified - down here; you say?

"The light magic." Robin nods. "Where she was getting some control at home in Storybrooke, down here it seems to be wild, raw and largely unchecked. She does okay with it when she's under pressure. Which, I suppose is a good thing, but in an uncritical moment, things tend to go a bit sideways."

"Cora taught her how to function under unbearable pressure at a ridiculously young age. Which, in some ways was beneficial. Cora can apply enough pressure to topple entire mountains in her wake… And I don't think it's so much that the light magic has been amplified. It's that the dark has been dulled, because that loathsome little leach of a man who runs this place is pulling on it. Sucking up Regina's power for his own self-serving purposes. By dulling Regina's connection to darkness, he effectively makes more room for the light to come through. Hence, the apparent amplification you speak of.

"That doesn't sound like a smart thing to do. I mean, doesn't that put him in greater danger?"

"It does."

"Forgive me, but that doesn't sound like something a self-serving man would do."

"No, you're quite right. I don't think he did it intentionally. I think he underestimated Regina. I think he thought she was too far gone."

"Well, that does make some sense. He came after me today. That's what set Regina off. You should've seen the look on his face, the pure unadulterated shock, when she drew blood. He wasn't ready for that!

"She drew blood? From Hades?"

"She did."

"Then she's a great deal stronger than Cora led me to believe."

"I have a question, sir. If the light is more intense - or coming through more strongly, how might that explain her ability to conjure both at the same time?"

Henry Mills blinks and then his eyes go wide. For a moment, he simply stares at Robin certain, at first, that he must be misunderstanding something, and then worrying that he has misunderstood nothing.

"Let's be clear? Are you telling me that you've seen Regina utilize both light and dark magic simultaneously?"

Aware of the new, and somewhat, alarming tone in the older man's voice, Robin thinks about it; choosing his next words with extreme care. "Utilize… No. Conjure… Yes. Just today. I've never seen her do it before. It was new, and more than a little frightening. I don't think she meant to do it. She was in an extreme state, and when she realized what was happening, I think it frightened her more than it did me."

Cora forced her to study things about magic that no child should ever know about. If you got the sense that she was more frightened than you were, she probably was. And, that was most likely because she knows what it means. Did she talk to you about it afterward?"

Robin shakes his head. After it happened, it took more than twenty minutes just to get her to speak. We haven't yet discussed what happened today. She didn't seem to have it in her. I thought it best to give her some space. Was the wrong of me?"

"No. I expect she will need some space in the coming days. Once she wakes up, and that's likely going to take a while. So, don't be alarmed when she doesn't wake tomorrow morning. If what you're describing really happened, she's been through a wringer. Her not wanting to talk about it yet, doesn't necessarily mean she's, choosing deliberately, to keep things from you. She likely just needs some time to process. Please, Robin, give her that time. Let her come to you. I don't think it would be wise to force the conversation."

"What exactly does she need time to process?"

"Her abilities are evolving. Likely, into something Regina has never expected for herself. it's a magical practice commonly known as Shadow Casting."

Robin squints. "I've never heard of it, but the term Shadow Casting makes it sound innocuous."

"Yes, I know. However, I assure you, it can be anything but innocuous. The way the term was chosen, it makes the process sound overly simple. He smiles wryly, and quickly breezes through an explanation of the obvious.

"In order to cast a shadow, we must have two things, the first is a source of light. The second. of course, is an object capable of blocking out said light. Long ago, it was decided that any person with the ability to possess such a source of light, who could also block that light, at will. Well… that person was said to …cast shadows… and it's not exactly surprising that you haven't heard of it before tonight. To find someone who is even capable of wielding both light and dark magic simultaneously…"

Henry Mills pauses to shake his head. ""There are only a select few - No, make that an - elite few, who can achieve such a feat. There are a small number of magical folk, witches, and wizards, who have the ability to practice both light and, dark magic, but of those, 99.9 percent of them cannot call on both simultaneously. They can consciously choose to use one or the other at any given moment. Using both in the same instance – Robin, there are precious few of them. Accomplished shadow casters, those who can successfully become a vessel for both the light and the dark, these individuals are coveted and excruciatingly rare."

"If there are people who can practice one or the other, at will, do many of them seek the ability to shadow cast?"

Regina's father shrugs. "I've never read of any who actively sought the ability. It's important to realize, I did say… accomplished… shadow casters. Of the very few who do exist, most of them don't live long enough to become accomplished. That's why they're so coveted."

"They don't live long?" Robin raises an eyebrow as a hollow ache rises in his chest. "Are you saying it shortens their lifespan?"

"No, at least not directly. That's not what I'm saying. To the best of my knowledge, their potential for a long healthy life, barring injury, remains untouched. It's just, if they don't learn to get control over the ability - if they don't find, and strike, a finite balance between the light and dark… More than a few of them have killed themselves. Intentionally. A fair percentage of them, don't do it intentionally, but the ability leaves them so unbalanced that they become a danger to themselves. They recklessly put themselves in harm's way without meaning to. I did read of one man who developed the ability unexpectedly and simply stopped using magic. His chosen means of control was complete abstinence from any, and all, forms of magical practice. The constant pull between the two, the unrelenting struggle, it's just too much for most people. Don't get me wrong. Control is possible. Those who manage it – they are stellar practitioners and extraordinarily good people."

"Will Regina have to use both at the same time? She didn't today. The opportunity simply presented itself. Even before I realized what was happening, I was scared for her. The look that came over her - Henry she was at a precipice. She didn't tell me this, but I got the sense that she felt as though she were being torn in two."

"No, she doesn't have to use both at the same time. It's best if she doesn't. It's best if she learns to pick and choose which one to utilize in any given moment. Simultaneous use of both should only be something done in the direst of situations, because such an event will likely cause someone's death. What Regina will have to do is learn to control it. Especially when she's feeling particularly emotional, because it's that ripped in two feeling that pushes people over that precipice. But, I'm confident. if anyone can manage it, it's my girl. I've always known there was more within her than Cora has ever given her credit for." Henry pauses thoughtfully. "Just out of curiosity, the opportunity presented itself to use both the light, and the dark today... and she didn't?"

"No. She didn't."

"Any idea what stopped her?"

Robin shrugs. "I guess I did."

"Oh? How did you manage that?

Robin shakes his head, as if to imply that it was no big deal, "I asked her not to." He shrugs again.

"And that was enough?"

"it was."

Henry Mills inhales deeply through his nose and pushes the breath out again slowly through barely parted lips, as if he is taking a long-awaited cleansing breath; as if some unseen weight has just been lifted from his weary shoulders. He eyes the younger man before him with a new and deeply profound understanding.

"I think…"

Robin waits. When the rest is not quickly forthcoming, he encourages, "Go on, sir. You think? What?"

"I think that either Cora has deliberately misled me, or she has completely misunderstood your relationship with my daughter. I think… Regina must be very much in love with you."

Robin's eyes shine brightly with the warmth of his next words. "The feeling is quite mutual Henry." He pauses to collect his next words. "However, I'm afraid It's not at all difficult to imagine that her mother misunderstood things. This afternoon, when we stumbled into your daughter's office. We weren't expecting to find anyone there. I think her mother was probably the last person Regina expected to find. There was an understandable moment of shock. Prior to going to the office, we had a run in with the ugliest beast I have ever encountered in my life. I got bitten and tossed around quite a bit. Regina healed my wounds and then took it upon herself to carry my knapsack and my bow to give me a few extra minutes of mending time, when she entered the office carrying my personal load…"

Henry waves the rest aside…. "I can guess the rest. Cora thinks you've objectified our daughter." He shakes his head.

Robin nods. "I'm afraid her irrevocable opinion me was formed in that one moment."

"Don't lose any sleep over it, my boy. If I thought for one minute that Cora was capable of feeling guilt, I would blame it on a guilty conscience. Ironically, and to the best of my knowledge, the one and only person who has ever objectified Regina, and gotten away with it, is Cora."

 **Chapter 20: With the Rising of the Sun**

Regina eyes refuse to open. Awake, but not wanting to be, she lingers with closed eyes beneath the pleasant weight of the blankets as she listens for the familiar sounds of the house. Puzzled, but not worried, she focuses; listens more intently. _Henry isn't making his usual quiet morning noises in his room. There's no sound of running water in the household plumbing, and no video game noises, there's no low frequency hum from the heater or air conditioner. The room is a bit warm._ Lazily she rolls over and wraps an arm around the pillow on the opposite side of the bed.

 _Robin._ She smiles with delicious thoughts in mind. _The pillow smells like Robin. He's here. Yum! No…Wait. Robin doesn't stay over. Not if Henry is home. Why is it so quiet? Is Henry with Emma? Or the Charmings. If Robin is here; where's Roland? Why doesn't she hear his happy little boy noises?_ Regina groans. _Too many questions. It's too early for questions. She's going to have to get up. My head hurts? Why?_

She tosses the blankets aside and as she swings her feet over the side of mattress she finally opens her eyes and immediately shields them with her right arm. _Too bright! Way too bright! What fool left the drapes open?_ She closes her eyes again, moves her arm away from her face and very slowly, opens her left eye only to close it again. _Wait a minute!_ Both eyes fly open! _This isn't my room! What is this place?_ She looks around wildly, confused, and still trying to shield her eyes from the early morning glare of too much sunlight. _Too much red sunlight. Where the hell am I?_

 _Not Hell… Just one door away from Hell, Oh great! Just great!_ Regina stomps across the room, yanks the drapes closed, then walks to the other side of the bed and repeats the process. She crawls back into bed and pulls the blankets over her head. She grabs the pillow that smells like Robin and inhales deeply. _There; that's better!_ She lays there, content to avoid facing the underworld for several minutes. She lays there until an alarming thought penetrates the heavy mental fog that comes from too much sleep. _He slept here. Otherwise, the pillow wouldn't smell like him, but he's not here now. Where is he?_

She tosses the blankets aside yet again and gets up hurriedly. _Great, now it's too dark in here!_ She chastises herself when she slips a bare foot underneath the edge of a rug that she's not familiar with and nearly trips. She opens the drapes that cover one window and then turns about, looking for the light switch. This room is vaguely familiar, but she can't quite place it. When she finds a light switch, and flips it into the on position, nothing happens. _That's why he opened the drapes genius; so, you could see where you were going!_ She flips the light switch back down and crosses the room to open the second set of drapes once more. She looks out and realizes that wherever she is, she's in a clearing amongst cyprus and pine. A flicker of movement motivates her to rein her gaze in. Instead of looking out over the trees, she looks straight down. She can see him. He's sitting on a wooden bench, on the porch. His back is to the house, she can see the back of his head, his shoulders, and the upper portion of his back. He's leaning toward as if his elbows are resting on his knees. She watches him for a long moment. He's concentrating on something, but, whatever it is that holds his attention, she cannot see it. His body blocks her line of sight. She stands there alone, watching until she begins to feel like a voyeur. Backing away from a window, she glances down at her own rumpled clothing and frowns. The closet door is open. She may as well see if it has anything good in it.

Some of the clothing she recognizes, some she doesn't. Some of it is hers, and some of it is Robin's. From the side of the closet that holds her things, she quickly chooses an ensemble that calls forth a bittersweet memory. She quickly changes clothes.

In the adjoining bathroom, she drops her dirty clothes in the hamper on top of the ones Robin was wearing yesterday. Next, she discovers that there's also no running water, but on the bathroom vanity she finds an out-of-place soup tureen that is warm to the touch. She removes the lid to find water. She carefully dips a finger in and then brings it to her lips. Saltwater, from the ocean. Probably the best he could do. _He went to the trouble to warm it up._ Next to the tureen she finds a carefully placed hand towel and wash cloth along with a new tooth brush, a small hairbrush, toothpaste, a bar of soap, and a box of bandages. She examines them briefly. The linens are relatively clean; though they smell of dust. The bandages and toiletries came from the underworld's version of the Dark Star Pharmacy.

Once she's done all she can do with what Robin has so thoughtfully provided, she chooses, and slips into a pair of shoes and then retrieves her coat from its resting place over the arm of a deep leather club chair. She searches her pockets and comes up with a tube of lip gloss, applies some courtesy of the mirror over the dresser, and then steps out of the room, yawning as she goes.

Curious about her surroundings, she looks around, but it does not dawn on her where she is until she's halfway down a grand spiral staircase with deep set, slow-rising steps, and a huge skylight far overhead. _The barn. The apple barn… Only, everything's different. The place is dusty, but under all the dust everything is new – or, at least, newer than it is in Storybrooke._

At the bottom of the stairs, she pauses to decide which way to go in order to reach Robin. After only a moment's thought, she heads for the smaller of the two rooms on the ground floor. On her way to the back door, she pauses at the kitchen counter where she finds bread and cheese laid out on a cutting board next to a small dessert plate and a metal pail that has been filled with fresh-picked blackberries and covered with a terrycloth dish towel. _He's had time to go in search of food and water. He's been up for a while. Maybe it's not as early as I think it is._ She glances at her wrist; looking for a watch that isn't there. Her stomach grumbles noisily as she quickly fixes herself a plate.

With the plate in hand, she steps out onto the back porch and quietly joins him, slipping out of her shoes and tucking her feet beneath herself as she sits down on the opposite end of the bench. Aware of her presence, he smiles and returns her light kiss, but does not immediately look up from the task that holds his attention. She sits quietly for a time, busy with the content of her plate while she watches him skim a very sharp, very fine. bladed knife over a rounded, spherical piece of wood. She was right, he is leaning on his elbows. They do rest on his knees, with his booted feet spread wide apart and wood shavings falling to the porch floor between them. Whatever he's crafting, he's nowhere near done, but based on the size and shape of the piece of wood, and the curled wood shavings on the floor, not to mention his motions with the knife, he looks like he's peeling an apple. As Regina munches, she looks across the backyard and sees a large old apple tree with pitifully rotting fruit falling from its branches.

Robin is so absorbed in what he's doing, Regina wouldn't have expected him to notice, but when she frowns, saddened by the wretched condition of the tree, he sets his woodworking aside on the arm of the bench seat and softly pats her knee.

"It'll be okay. We'll make it home. You can nurture it and fret over it all you like then. Of course, we'll have to plant it first."

She smiles pensively. "I guess the fact that this place is here means we live here… Will live here… Did live here. I'm not exactly sure how to phrase it."

He chuckles dryly. "I know what you mean, and yes, I think that's pretty obvious. It's our clothes that are hanging in the closets. The pictures in all the frames are of us, and our kids. It certainly, looks like you live here. There are little touches of you everywhere."

"And you two." She answers with an unmistakable note of sadness in her voice.

Robin drops an arm around her shoulders. "I know. It is somewhat unsettling to find this place just standing here, waiting for us, but there is a certain kind of hope in it too; isn't there."

"Yes, but I don't think there is supposed to be. Hades isn't the sort of guy who walks around wanting people happy while they hope for better things. He's Hades the dark lord of the underworld, not Snow White. If he finds out this place offers even a glimmer of hope, he'll have a raised."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that. I don't think it was supposed to be that way either. We're here before our time. We weren't supposed to be here in the underworld until after we had already lived here in Storybrooke. This place was supposed to make us ache for home, not make us look forward to it."

He smiles as he watches her nibble on the small wedge cheddar, so she picks up a blackberry and holds it gently to his mouth; feeding him before offering him a kiss.

"It's still a tiny bit creepy though, Robin. It might be less creepy if the whole place wasn't covered in at least a decade's worth of dust. The place could use an extreme cleaning."

"I thought about that too. But I'm hoping we won't be here long enough to make it worth all the work."

Regina laughs. "What work? It shouldn't be too hard. All you need is a little magic." She hands him her plate for safekeeping, stands up, and turns a slow circle once, taking in all she can see before turning the same slow circle again while gently blowing something akin to white magical glimmering grains of sand from her outstretched palm.

As Robin watches, everything that is out of place outdoors, is either relocated to its proper place, or it disappears altogether. White magic floats on the early morning breeze like tendrils of glimmering smoke and even finds its way into the house. He can hear things being moved about inside, and there's no cause for alarm until he hears the sound of glass breaking somewhere out of sight.

He raises an eyebrow? "Did you do that?"

Regina squints. "I'm afraid that's highly likely. "Whatever it was, I'll fix it when we go in. It'll be easier to manage if I can see it – if I can focus specifically on that one thing. I'm still a little off center with this stuff, but I'm determined to make good use of the fact that I have a boost down here. Well, it's not really a boost so much as it is Hades pretty much draining the dark stuff out of me. Makes the light stuff flow that much freer. But, if I don't use it, I'll never learn to temper it. It starts out nice and easy, but soon it's like a snowball rolling downhill. I'm having a little trouble with the breaks. Maybe by the time we get home, I can make some progress with it since I don't have to work so hard to get around her."

"Her? The queen?

"Do you know, you're the only person that doesn't stick that word - evil- in there."

He shrugs. "Doesn't really apply anymore."

Regina laughs as she runs her fingers through his hair affectionately. "Oh, yes it does. She's still evil, and right now she's thoroughly pissed off because that horrible little leech is draining her dry and there's not really anything she can do about it."

Helping himself to a piece of her cheese, Robin covers his mouth as he laughs."

"What? What's funny?" She asks as she steps between his knees and lightly settles herself on one of his thighs before wrapping an arm around his neck.

"Your turn of phrase. Like father, like daughter: I guess. Your dad called him the same thing; a leech."

"Robin? You talked to Daddy? How? Where? When? Is he okay?" She smacks his shoulder excitedly, and repeatedly. "Well, answer me! Don't just sit there! Say something!"

"Oh, I will." He laughs. "If you let me get a word in edgewise… And if you stop beating on me, woman!"

Regina goes perfectly still and makes a pained attempt at patience.

Teasing her, Robin waits with mirth bringing light to his blue eyes until just before the moment he knows she'll start up again if he doesn't relieve the pressure she feels; the pressure of needing to know.

"You father is as well as can be expected; given where he currently resides." Robin gestures to the underworld around them. "He came here the night before last. Looking for you. Now, don't hit me again!" He leans back, trying unsuccessfully to move his chest out of her reach before she can swat at him some more. "I know. I wanted to wake you. I knew you would want to see him. He asked me not to. Cora told him what happened with Hades and Zelena. Come to think of it, I mentioned Zelena to him, we didn't talk about her in detail, but he didn't seem surprised. Either Cora told him about your sister, or he found out through other means. Anyway, He wanted to let you sleep. Cora told him you might be here. Apparently, she discovered the barn a while back. When you didn't show up at your house night before last, she guessed that we probably came here. Henry came by yesterday. He sat with you while I went out to get supplies."

Regina scowls.

"I know, I know. He said not to wake you. He said it would be next to impossible to do it anyway, after what happened with Hades. He said to leave you alone and let you wake on your own. He said you needed to rest; to recuperate after - after what happened."

Regina searches his face; his eyes. "You told him… About the magic."

Robin nods and admits quietly. "It came up."

She chews on her lower lip. "After everything he gave up trying and save me; Daddy must be horrified."

Robin shakes his head. "Horrified is not the word I would use. Concerned maybe, relieved, happy, and really rather proud; I think."

"Proud? Robin, I'm the reason he's here. I put him here. How could he possibly be proud?"

Robin looks up, smiling and waving in greeting when he hears the sound of horse's hoofs approaching. "Ask him for yourself."

 **Chapter 21: The Cavalry Arrives**

Keeping the size of their group in mind, Emma orders herself and Henry cocoa with cinnamon, and fresh coffee and cinnamon rolls for the others before she claims a large table in the underworld's version of Storybrooke's diner. She sits anxiously, with her back to the wall, keeping an eye on the door as she dunks a piece of gingerbread into her own cocoa.

Within minutes, her mom and Ruby arrive and pull out two of the seats opposite her. When Emma offers Ruby a raised eyebrow, the brunette smiles. "The guys are a little sluggish this morning; they're coming. Hook couldn't find his leather jacket, Henry couldn't find his sneakers, and your dad is busy wishing he'd brought a gun, a sword, or any other weapon along for the trip.

Setting her bow and quiver in a corner that is well within reach before taking her own seat, Mary Margaret shrugs. "I tried to tell him. Why should he listen to me, I'm just his wife? But, weapon or not, I suggest we find Robin and Regina and get ourselves out of this place as quickly as possible."

"I'll second that!" Ruby answers her friend as she looks around the room and tries to contain the shiver she feels as it dances its way down her spine. "This place gives me the creeps! Who is that woman behind the counter? Granny wouldn't like this!"

In a hushed voice, Emma offers, "Unless I miss my guess, that's the blind witch. Let's hope Regina hasn't been in here."

Unaware, Ruby queries, "Why?"

"Because Regina killed her." Emma answers dryly, then clarifies, "Well, I should say the Evil Queen killed her."

"Really? Oh man! I should've known that rumor about her being killed by two little kids she was trying to eat was too good to be true."

"Oh no, that part is true. Hansel and Gretel. It's in Henry's storybook; but the two kids were sent into her cottage by Regina."

"She sent two little kids into the home of a woman who eats children?' Ruby's eyes go wide, and she shakes her head.

"She's not that person anymore, Red." Mary Margaret patiently reminds them both.

"No, Snow. I know that. If I didn't, I wouldn't come down here with you to help find her. It's just… well, if this place is full of souls with unfinished business, how many of them do you think we're going to encounter who have a problem with Regina. They're going to take one look at her and - they won't recognize the difference the way we do. I'm not sorry I came. It's just… guys, we might be in for a firefight. Getting out of here, going back home, may not exactly be a piece of cake.

Mary Margaret sighs and shrugs. "It won't be the first time we've had to find our way home under less than favorable conditions. If there is one, it won't be our first firefight.

"Bring it." Emma whispers quietly.

Her mother chuckles. "Oh, I'm not quite that ready, but I'm with you. I just hope Regina isn't too upset with us when she realizes we brought Henry along with us. I still think we should've tried harder to leave him behind in Storybrooke. Emma, honey, he really doesn't need to be in this place."

It's Ruby, who comes to Emma's defense. "Snow, I agree this isn't the best place for him, but he's not exactly a little boy anymore; he's 13 now. Plus, he's got heroes for grandparents..." Ruby gestures toward one of her oldest and dearest friends before continuing. "And a savior for one of his moms. If we had left him behind, I think he would've found some other way to get here. He wasn't going to just sit home and accept defeat. It's not in his blood."

"Literally." Emma concurs dryly. "But I'm not sure it's his blood that has anything to do with it. Think about where Regina was three years ago. Think about where she is today. Think about the struggle she endures every single day; especially because the thing she fights lives inside her. Whatever else you think she is; a villain, a hero, a mayor, a friend, or a thorn in your side… Whatever Regina is; whatever she isn't… above all else, she's a fighter… and she's his mom. She raised him. Her blood may not a flow through his veins, but you can't say she hasn't taught the boy what it means to fight for what you believe in. And, Henry believes in her."

"Okay." Mary Margaret acquiesces despite her maternal impulses. "But he's my grandson. And if I were stuck down here – I may actually be stuck down here - I wouldn't want him or your brother coming after me. You're grown now, Emma and I don't even like the fact that you're here with me. The sooner we get everybody home safely; a better I'll feel. We're here. Let's get what we came for and get out."

"I think I may have a way to help with that already." Ruby offers. "I know we got nowhere in our search yesterday. I went to all the same places you did. All the places one might expect to find Regina; the mayor's office, her house, this place. I even thought if she were looking for a way home, she might stop by the library, or her vault. It wasn't until last night when I couldn't sleep that I slipped out of the loft and went for a run…"

She pauses when Mary Margaret raises an eyebrow and offers her a smile. "Just a run? Or, do you mean a run in the pale moonlight?"

Ruby flashes her grin. "More like a run in the red moonlight… But yes, that's what I mean. Seriously girls, in every horror story I've ever read, blood on the moon is not a good omen. This place is bad. It's bad, bad, bad. Very, very bad!"

Over the rim of her mug of cocoa Emma says discreetly, "Maybe you should stop reading horror stories."

Ruby chuckles. "You may have a point there, Sheriff."

"Not here; I'm not. But never mind that. So, you shed your cloak, wolfed out, went for a run in the very bad moonlight." Emma rolls her wrist as she talks; motioning 'so on, and so forth.' "What did you learn?"

"It wasn't until I… wolfed out… as you so eloquently put it. That I realized, magic must be different down here. Until I transformed, I hadn't realized that my senses are dulled here. Well, at least in human form anyway. In wolf form, they're a great deal stronger. Not as strong as they should be; but stronger. Strong enough to aid in the search. I went back to all those same places. I even went down to the merry men's camp; thinking that maybe she and Robin had gone there. I did pick up traces of Regina's and Robin's scent at the town hall. The heaviest concentration was inside her inner office. They spend some time there, probably on their first day here. The scent is old and fading. That was the only place I picked up traces of them, except for briefly out in the woods last night. But I lost the scent. They weren't at the camp. They haven't been to the camp. She hasn't been to her vault, or to her house, but someone has. Someone she's related to. I'm guessing Cora. And because that's what I'm guessing, I didn't want to go inside.

Emma stops her briefly. "You can tell if two people are related to each other by their scent?"

Ruby nods. "You know how people in the same family will develop similar voices; especially along gender lines? It's kind of like that. Emma, your scent isn't exactly the same, but it's very similar to Snow's. The same is true of Cora and Regina. They aren't the same; even less similar than the two of you are. And that's most likely because of Regina's change. Cora is darker, harder; definitely the greater threat. But they're still in the same bloodline.

Emma wipes faint traces of cocoa from her lips with a paper napkin. "You can literally smell darkness?"

"Oh sure! It's hard to put into words exactly what it smells like or how I do it, but you don't need to be a wolf from the Enchanted Forest who is capable of magically transforming into a human to do that. Any canine can. There's a reason Pongo growls at Rumpelstiltskin every time he sees him; and it's not just because he doesn't like the man's cologne."

"Pongo doesn't like Gold's cologne?" Emma asks.

Ruby shakes her head as Mary Margaret asks, "Who does?"

"But how do you know?" Emma raises an eyebrow.

"He told me." Ruby shrugs. "We talk sometimes."

"You talk to Pongo?" Emma stares with slight incredulity.

"Sure, why not? He's nice."

"He's a dog!"

"So, what? So am I. His owner is a cricket, and you sleep with a guy with a hook for a hand. Before that, you had a thing for a guy made of wood? Your mom used to live with a houseful of dwarves, and she talks to birds. We're all a little weird, okay?"

"Yeah, OK, but Ruby, Pongo's not a magical dog! He can't transform into a human."

Ruby smiles and rolls her eyes. "I said we talk. We're friends; that's all. I did not say I want to have his puppies! Anyway, after everything you've seen and done in the last three years, how are you so sure he's not magical? Are you certain he can't transform?"

Laughing, Emma places her crossed arms over her face and head, pantomiming the duck and cover routine. "Oh God!" She groans, wondering why such a thought has never occurred to her before. "I certainly hope he can't! He stayed with us for a while! That dog has seen me get undressed!"

Busy laughing, neither Emma nor Ruby see the diner's front door open. Neither pay much attention when Mary Margaret stands up with a look of mild concern on her face. "David, where are Hook and Henry? Why did you change clothes? Is everything okay?"

Pleased at first, and then rapidly puzzled by, a show of affection so intense that it leaves them supremely uncomfortable, Emma and Ruby squint as David comes close, whispers, "Everything's fine." and pulls his wife into his arms for what would have been a very passionate kiss had Mary Margaret not suddenly broken free, pushed back, and reached for her bow.

Emma stares in shock as Mary Margaret draws the bow tight, taking aim. "Mom! Dad!" She passes a look from one parent to the other. "What going on!"

The entire diner falls quiet and patrons stare in shock as Mary Margaret answers in a harsh tone, "Emma, that is not your father!"

Wildly confused, Emma and Ruby both swivel their gazes, once more, between Mary Margaret and the man she's set to fire upon.

"Uh, Mom…" Emma starts to argue, and then falls silent, looking hard at the man in question.

He answers the silent question visible in Emma's eyes. "She's quite right. I'm not your dad." As he heads for the rear exit, with Mary Margaret turning to keep him in her sights, he calls over his shoulder, "I just had to find out for myself. Just couldn't pass up the opportunity. After that, I know why he is your dad."

Emma's mother doesn't collapse back into her seat until he's through the door and out of sight. At which point she covers her mouth with both of her hands, and all three women whisper in unison, "James."

No one says anything for an uncomfortably weighted moment. When Mary Margaret finally does lower her hands from her mouth, she points toward the back door. "That man is bad. Bad, bad, very bad!"

"Who's bad?"

All three women jump, startled, and turn to find that Henry, Hook, and a man they all hope is David, have entered and approached the table. Each of the women looks at the others, and then at the men with uncertainty until Mary Margaret stands up again and offers him a light kiss. One which he discreetly returns before she sighs with obvious relief. "It's okay, this one's David."

Not understanding, he chuckles. "Of course, I'm David. Who else would I be?"

"Your brother."

"James is here?" David inquires with an obvious note of concern.

"Oh boy, is he ever!" Emma answers. Mom just threatened to shoot him… After he kissed her."

"He kissed you?" David asks; sounding more uncomfortable than angry.

Mary Margaret gestures with her hands and nods helplessly. "I thought he was you… At least at first, anyway. Do me a favor? Until we get back home, don't change clothes without letting me know."

Chuckling quietly at her distress, David drapes an arm around his wife's shoulders. "He got you; did he?"

His wife lightly smacks his shoulder. "Don't laugh. It's not funny David! That was not fun! Not fun at all!"

"I'm glad you don't think so." He kisses her temple and lowers himself into the seat beside hers as she smacks his shoulder again because he's still laughing.

"So…" as Henry and Hook take their own seats, David picks up one of the cups of coffee Emma purchased before the men's arrival. "Other than kissing my brother… Have you accomplished anything. Are we any closer to finding Regina and Robin?"

Laughing, she warns; drolly. "Keep it up. I will shoot you."

"Ruby was just telling us where they aren't, right before James showed up… Oh God…" Emma pauses, suddenly queasy with a thought. "Do I have to call him Uncle James?"

"Don't call him anything, honey. He's dead." David tells his daughter. "And I'm not planning on staying long enough for the two of you to get acquainted. Ruby…" He turns his attention to her. "We pretty much know where they aren't. We need to know where they are?"

"Well, I was coming to that. Before we were so… bizarrely interrupted."

Mary Margaret offers further encouragement. "You said you lost their scent out in the woods."

"Yeah, but before that, I went to the cemetery. Both of their names are on tombstones. So are most of ours; by the way. I don't know exactly what that means, but something tells me, it's not good. Anyway, we will deal with that when we have to. Regina and Robin were both there together. From what I could tell, they stopped at their own graves, at her father's and they each stopped by Marian's and Daniel's graves. I followed their scents out to the woods. I lost them, and maybe I should have, but there is something I didn't think about last night when I was tracking them."

Hook swallows black coffee before chiming in. "Don't keep us in suspense, love."

"A few days ago, in Storybrooke, when Granny sent me out to find Regina after Zelena broke free, it took me awhile to find her. I caught her scent and traced it out into the woods; about ½ mile east of the old troll bridge."

Henry squints. "A half mile east of the troll bridge… are you sure, Ruby? There's nothing out there except for this scary, decrepit, old barn that's falling down. When I was a younger, I used to think it would be a pretty cool place to play. But, I knew Mom would have a meltdown. Kinda like the one she had about my castle, only I knew if she caught me playing in that busted up barn it would be about a million times worse. Mom wouldn't go all the way out there. At least not without a really good reason."

Ruby shrugs. "Maybe she had one. All I know is that was exactly where I found them. Out in front of a…" She nods her approval at Henry's choice of words. "Scary, decrepit, old barn that's falling down."

Mary Margaret looks from her grandson to Ruby. "if Cora is staying at Regina's place… And believe me she would definitely move in; it's one of the nicest places in town. Only the best would do for Cora. There may be one or two places to rival it, but Cora would choose it simply because it was Regina's…. If she is staying there, Regina wouldn't. After what happened to Daniel, I don't see Regina wanting Robin within 50 miles of her mother, not if she can help it. She's got to be feeling protective. So, maybe they were looking for someplace else. I just can't see Regina staying in a tent in the woods for any longer than she absolutely had to. Maybe she and Robin went looking for shelter elsewhere. Ruby, you're thinking maybe this old barn?"

"Maybe." Ruby nods. "If they were in a bind. Which, let's face it, what with the rumors going around this forsaken place that Regina and Hades had some kind a showdown two days ago; I'd say odds are pretty good that they are in a bind." She glances at Henry and makes her voice as gently as possible, "Especially if she got hurt. Robin would head for the trees. He'd find someplace familiar to lay low, wait for backup, and take care of her, if necessary. No one will find them if Robin doesn't want to be found. Even I lost their scents."

Ruby pauses to nod, more convinced of what she's saying by the moment; as if she's talking herself into it. "There was something else too. I didn't put it together until just now. I caught another scent out there in the woods. As the men arrived late in the conversation, she adds the next bit mostly for Emma and Mary Margaret's benefit. "Someone else who is related to her was out there too. Someone male. Maybe her father, but I can't be certain. I'm also a pretty sure he was on horseback."

David stands up; ready to leave. "Ruby, your nose is a thing of beauty! Lead the way."

 **Chapter 22: Unconditional**

As Henry Mills leaves his saddle, he can't help but watch the couple resting in each other's arms behind the old barn, instantly struck by the fact that, in adulthood, he has never seen his daughter look quite this close to peaceful. This man, Robin, he kisses her temple and says quietly, "I'll be inside." Before she rises to her feet, leaving his embrace.

When Henry steps up onto the porch, Robin stays only long enough to shake his hand and offer a polite, "Good morning, sir." before ducking into the house so that he might give father and daughter some much-needed time alone together.

Henry tilts his head to one side as he watches his daughter turn toward him. Unable to lift her gaze to meet his, she stands there staring at her own bare feet; her discarded shoes only inches away. She's wearing an almost simple dress. One with a very understated elegance; not at all like the extravagant and intimidating attire her mother taught her to wear. It's more like something she would've chosen for herself back before things went so horribly wrong. Should he dare to hope based on this alone that all the talk is true? Are things really so different? He won't know until she looks at him, until he can see her face; her eyes.

"Regina?"

"Daddy, I'm sorry." She whispers and then, in a breaking voice, she repeats just a little louder. "I am so sorry, Daddy."

Henry instantly steps forward, gently pulling his daughter into his arms. "Oh, it's alright, dear. Shh... Please don't cry." He steps back only far enough to take her face in his hands, so he can have a good look at her. Wiping tears from her cheeks, he searches her eyes, and offers her a tender smile. "There's no need for you to be sorry. I'm not. I never have been."

Regina stares at him; afraid to hope. "But you're here - and it's all my fault."

Folding his arms around her once more, he whispers, "It's a price well paid. One I would gladly pay all over again tomorrow, if need be."

"Daddy, please don't say that!"

"But I must. It's only the truth. To see you this way… free of so much darkness… Regina there aren't words enough to say what this means to me."

She shakes her head; still feeling unworthy. "I'm still working on it. It's not gone, Daddy, not completely."

"I know. I can see. But it doesn't have to be completely gone, Regina. Everybody has some darkness. No one is completely free of it. Having it, isn't what matters. What matters… the only thing that matters, is what you choose to do with it."

"It can't really be this easy. Can it? Am I really forgiven?"

"Of course, you are. That's what fathers do."

"Oh, I don't know about that Daddy. I think you must be very special; a great deal more than I deserve."

Henry chuckles quietly. "Well, that's one thing you and I are never going to agree on. I have many regrets, Regina. So many that I don't know which one is keeping me here. But I want you to know that being your father has never been one of them."

Too overcome to speak, Regina simply holds him for long moments. When she can, she pulls back gently, looks him over, and then hugs him again. Only when she is certain that her tears have dried for the immediate future does she leave his arms. Taking him by the hand, she leads him over to the bench on the porch and sits; gently pulling him down beside her.

Taking a deep breath, she sighs and then asks, "Tell me; can you leave this place, and if so, how? What can I do to help you? Even if we find a way home, I won't leave you here to suffer in this place any longer. "

"No Regina, I don't want you to worry about me. If my being here came as a shock to you, then you didn't come because of me. Nobody comes here unless they must. Cora gave me the impression that you came because of your sister. Beyond that, she didn't have much to say.

"Oh right, Robin said that news of Zelena didn't seem to be a shock to you. It's all a big mess Daddy. A big horrible misunderstanding. But that's how she wanted it. She hates me. She's going to ruin my happiness - or she was trying to. I have no idea what she's doing now." Regina wrinkles her nose in disgust. Whatever she's doing now, she's doing it with a Hades and that's just something I would really prefer not to think about."

"I've known about your sister for years."

"Don't tell me mother actually volunteered the information once she got down here. Why would she do that? To what end? Just to hurt you?"

"No Regina. Your mother and I don't spend a great deal of time together anymore. Not that we ever did. But, in order for her to hurt me, I'd have to care. It may not be a nice thing for a man to say about the woman he was married to for most of his life, but I don't care. I don't care what Cora does anymore; or, at least, I didn't care, not until you showed up here. With you here, she has power over me again." Quietly, apologetically, Henry continues, and before she can interrupt him, he admits, "I knew about your sister years before my death. How I knew isn't important. Now, it seems that perhaps it would have been better if I had chosen to tell you. I chose to keep knowledge of her from you, not out of jealousy or pride, but because I was afraid of how you would react if you knew about her. You were so desperate for your mother's approval. I feared you would see her as a competitor and act badly. I'm sorry, sweetheart. If she is causing you trouble now… Perhaps it might have been avoided if I'd been honest about her years ago."

Regina sits quietly for a very long couple of minutes; thinking this over.

Her father waits; not sure what to expect now that things are so obviously different. Will there still be a heated flash of temper, violence, hurt feelings, or rage?

She silently turns his news over in her mind repeatedly until she is certain of how she wants to respond, and then, much to her father's surprise, his daughter simply shrugs.

"Regina?" he queries; shock evident in his voice.

She squeezes his hand affectionately.

Although he hadn't thought it possible, her next words are an even greater shock to him; one that is still more pleasant than the first.

"You have a grandson. My relentless pursuit of vengeance nearly cost me him. It nearly cost me his love. He's a good boy, Daddy. He was my reason for choosing a new path. I did it to keep him. He's still my reason when things get bleak. But now I have other reasons too…" She pauses to smile sweetly before continuing. "And there are things I don't tell him. To protect him - and maybe sometimes it's to protect myself." She admits honestly. "I understand. I understand, and it's okay. You weren't wrong. If you had told me about Zelena years ago, I'm sure I would have acted…well…" She laughs dryly. "Exactly, the same way she's acting right now."

"How is she acting?"

"Vengefully; And very foolishly. There is so much to tell you that I'm not quite certain where to start. I guess I'll start with Zelena and work my way back around to her again. I'm not sure if she got involved with Hades personally before she decided to do what she's done, or if the romance came later. It could be possible that she's just using him for what he can offer… For what he has offered. I don't know. Maybe she really is in love with him. And Daddy, I'm not sure which possibility is worse. If she is in love with him, I can almost guarantee you she's going to get hurt. That will make her unbearable. She will be heartbroken, angry, and out for blood. Whatever she decides to do in retaliation for that pain, we'll have to stop her; which will be unpleasant to say the least. On the other hand, if she's just using him… when he finds out about it." Regina's eyes go wide. "I don't even want to think about the firestorm that's going to bring down on us. Either way, it's going to be ugly."

"Using him for what? What exactly has she done? And, why should she hate you?"

"She hates me for the same reason I hated Snow for all those years. Because she's blaming the wrong person. Just like I was, she's truly angry with Mother. But, like you said, I desperately wanted Mother's approval, and because of that, placing the blame on Snow was easier."

Regina pauses, collecting her thoughts, and Henry waits her out.

"A while back I tried to reach across the divide and communicate with Mother. I had questions. Questions I needed answers to. It didn't go the way we planned, but I got at least some of the answers I sought. Before Mother met you, she was working as a maid in a tavern. Some man named Jonathan deceived her. She thought he was a prince. Already obsessed with securing a better life for herself, she spent the night with him. I don't know if she intended to get pregnant. Whether she did intend for it to happen, or not, it did. Her only problem was that she'd unwittingly fallen for his lie. Apparently, he was nothing more than one of Leopold's palace gardeners. She met, and tried to secure a place for herself in, Leopold's life. Though they were not yet married, Ava was already a part of his life. She overheard the truth about Mother's pregnancy and informed Leopold; thereby ruining yet another of mother's chances to claw her way into a royal life. Zelena was born. Mother abandoned her, for her own self-serving reasons, and I believe, with all that is within me, that it was at this point, all those years ago, that Mother decided to get even with Ava and Leopold. She waited all those years. Waited for me to come of age. Mother killed Ava. She's set Snow's horse wild, and I ran after it. Now, it makes me sick to realize I was just an expendable pawn in one of Mother's elaborate real-life chess games. If she couldn't have Leopold herself; I would. Meanwhile, Zelena grew up hating the woman who had abandoned her. She suffered terribly because of that event. That suffering made her every bit as dark as it made me; despite Mother's absence from her life. Then, one day, courtesy of Rumpelstiltskin, Zelena learned of me. Believing that I somehow had stolen her birthright, blaming me -it's easier for her than blaming Mother, because as much as she hates Mother, she wants terribly to be loved by her. Not that she can admit that, or that she even knows it. Zelena cast a time traveling spell. She went back in time, and when the opportunity presented itself, she killed Robin's wife, Marian. She took her appearance, came forward in time, once more, to Storybrooke. That's the name of the town where we all live now - courtesy of the curse that I cast - Robin and I had only just started spending time together and suddenly his late wife re-enters his life. Or, so we thought. The Snow Queen found her way to Storybrooke and cast a curse of her own on the town. While she was busy doing it, she froze the imposter. Once we had dealt with the Snow Queen. Zelena, disguised as Marian, had to be taken somewhere without magic to keep her heart from freezing. I couldn't think of another solution… At least not one that was acceptable. Robin trusted me with the heart of a woman we all believed to be his wife … and she was in my way. Zelena is damn lucky she's still alive. The only reason she is, is because I couldn't hurt him. As miserable as the whole situation made me, as much as I wanted to just kill her and be done with it. I couldn't do that to Robin." Regina pauses, afflicted once more with the torment the memory brings.

When she feels as though she can go on; she shrugs and leans into the hug her father offers. "He's a good man, Daddy. He thought he was married to her. He thought she was the mother of his son. He couldn't send her off to some unknown city, in an unknown world to fend for herself. That's not who he is. If he were that man, I'd want nothing to do with him. Just because we were wrong about her true identity, didn't negate the fact that he loved his wife deeply. Two months went by and I got tired of missing him. Feeling like I shouldn't, feeling ashamed of myself, I reached out to him anyway. When I did, Zelena told the truth. I went to get he and Roland and bring them back home to Storybrooke…"The harsh laughter that escapes Regina's throat is dry and humorless. It's been less than a week since the truth came out." She sighs with exhaustion, even though she's only just risen from a nearly 36-hour-nap. "When I got to New York, she finally revealed herself and then she told me that she's pregnant." Regina breaks in the telling of the tale one more time, watching her father's eyes go wide as she grows nauseous with the memory.

"Robin and I both assumed that the child was most likely his. Especially because… well… he remembers…" Regina fidgets uncomfortably in the seat beside her father. "He remembers the possibility. Which, of course, is exactly what Zelena wanted. She wanted to put a permanent wedge between us; a chasm we couldn't cross. It almost worked Daddy. The thought of her giving him a child – a child I can't give him - Sometimes, I really hate this being good thing. It would've been so much easier just to set the hateful bitch's face on fire and watch her burn!" Regina grimaces; releasing the momentary lapse into old ways of thinking. "But not worth the cost." She sighs in disgust, but then smiles. "I have too much to lose now. So Instead, we took her back to Storybrooke, and locked her up. The plan was to wait for the baby to be born and try to find our way through together. I didn't connect the two events until Zelena admitted two days ago, that there was a connection, but back in Storybrooke, when we started talking about her due date, and the possibility of doubt regarding the baby's paternity, she panicked. She cut off her own wrist to escape, magically re-attached it, and we stopped her. She had just missed hopping the next cyclone back to Oz, when another portal opened up. I saw it. I knew what it was. Robin didn't. All he knew was that the woman who might be carrying his child got pulled in. He ran after her. Roland ran after him, I ran after Roland… Daddy, it was a nightmare."

"I take in Roland is Robin's son?"

Regina nods; smiling. "Yes, and normally he's such a sweet little guy. He was absolutely terrified to see his dad get pulled into that portal, but he wasn't going to let being terrified stop him. I almost lost my hold on him. He kicked me black and blue; screaming, 'Let me go Regina! I'm going with my daddy!' I remember screaming at him to stop and hold still. Telling him that he didn't have to go. I would go. I somehow managed to hand him off to Emma. She got him to safety and came back. I barely had time to tell her where we were going before I got pulled in too. The portal slammed shut and the next thing I knew, I woke up here. In a cave. I'm certain Emma is trying to find a way to get us home. Now that I'm awake after my little tete-a-tete with Hades, Robin and I will have to do what we can from this end to help her out."

"How old is Roland?"

"He's four, but he'll be five and a few months."

Henry can't help but smile at the light shining in his daughter's eyes. "You love this child?"

She nods eagerly. "How could anybody not. He's…" Regina shakes her head. "Daddy, he's just amazing. She laughs at her own rush of emotion.

"He's so young. Does he even remember his mother's death?"

"Vaguely. Mostly, what he remembers is her life. Robin talks to him. Tells him about his mother and how much she loved him. He keeps her memory alive for Roland."

"And, Zelena reappeared disguised as her. I can't even begin to think about the damage that must've done."

Regina shakes her head. "Roland is okay. He doesn't remember his mother's return, or the mendacity attached to it. Robin and I talked it over. Despite a few inconveniences, we decided a forgetting potion would be kinder than putting him through the heartache and torment of losing his mother all over again.

"I see. Yes, under the circumstances, I would agree… And who is Emma? Have you made friends in Storybrooke?"

Mildly startled, Henry raises an eyebrow when Regina suddenly lifts her face to the sky and laughs boldly and freely.

"Okay, oh boy Daddy. You really weren't kidding when…" She pauses to let the rest of her laughter dry up. "You said you and mother don't talk much, anymore. She's not at all happy about Emma. I would've thought that she would've been itching to, at least, tell you about the mess she thinks I've made of things where Emma is concerned. Emma is Henry's other mom."

"Henry?" The old king smiles at his daughter.

Regina drops an arm around her father shoulders. "Well, yes of course, Henry… Henry Daniel Mills.

"Ahh… But, of course!"

"The only name worthy of my son!"

"And, this Emma is his… other mom?"

Regina nods matter-of-factly. "She is, yes. Emma is his birth mother. I adopted him when he was three weeks old. She wasn't ready to be a mom back then, but she got the hang of it quickly enough when she came to town and realized that her then, ten-year-old, son was not doing too well. Because, at the time, I was making him every bit as miserable as Mother used to make me. I won't lie. For a while, Emma and I -we literally tried to kill each other. Henry just wouldn't allow it. His attitude was basically. 'Look! You're my mom! She's my mom! There are two of you. Deal with it, get over it, and let's move on!' Now, we're all part of this big, weird, messy family. Emma and I still occasionally butt heads, but as weird as it is -She gets me. And, most of the time, I get her too."

"She gets you? What exactly does that mean?"

Regina laughs at the misunderstanding. "Sorry, they probably still don't talk this way in the Enchanted Forest. Emma gets me, or - more correctly put - she understands me. Most of the time."

"Regina, Sweetheart, families are often big and messy, but, as long as it works, why should it be weird?"

"Are you kidding? Being accepted as part of a family after I spent years crushing people to death who just had the misfortune to look at me the wrong way… But especially this family."

"This family?" Henry inquires patiently; aware that there's still something he's missing.

"Daddy; Emma Swan is the daughter, the firstborn child, of Snow and Charming."

For the longest of moments, Henry simply sits and stares at his daughter. Likewise, Regina is content to sit and let him, because even after three years, sometimes, it's still catches her by surprise.

At length, he wraps his daughter in another fierce hug. "I'm guessing you didn't know who she was when you decided to adopt him."

"No. I had no clue. The night I cast that curse was the night she was born. Her parents put her in that wardrobe to try and spare her, to give her best chance. Eighteen years later she gave birth to your grandson and gave him up for the same reasons that her parents gave her up. He found his way to me. We're all tied together now; because of Henry. His birth father was Baelfire."

"Rumpelstiltskin's boy?"

"Yes, but he was called Neal in Storybrooke. Snow and David named their son for him."

"Yes." He squeezes her shoulders affectionately. "Your family is a bit messier than most; I think."

"A bit? Come on, Daddy. I am my own son's step-a great grandmother!" Regina laughs. "It's beyond messy. It's just plain weird, but Henry doesn't seem to mind."

"That's because, you've laid down an age-old vendetta for his well-being. My guess is that the boy knows he's loved. Regina, that fact alone can cover a multitude of weirdness."

"Tell me about it!"

"Maybe that will work for you and Robin as well; after this child is born.

Unable not to breathe a sigh of relief, Regina shakes her head. "It might've, but it doesn't have to. Robin and I haven't even had the chance to talk about it yet. I'm sure we will, at some point, if we ever get home. But, it's not his baby. Two days ago, when Zelena thought I might actually harm Hades, she fessed up. Apparently, even masquerading as his wife, she couldn't get Robin to…" Regina chooses her words carefully; trying to be discreet and also to avoid making herself nauseous. "Do what she wanted. He remembers it. But it's not real. According to Zelena, it's just a false memory. One she implanted because, by the time they left for New York, she was already pregnant. She felt that if she didn't do something soon, she was going to lose the opportunity. So, she forced the memory. She didn't need to actually bed him… Just to make him think she had… To make him remember that she had. Then, she told him she was pregnant. Believe me, it nearly worked just as well. If we hadn't gotten pulled down here, she might have carried the farce all the way through to the end. But when Robin finally lost his temper… I actually think he might have hurt her, if he'd had a snowball's chance in hell of doing it, Hades fired on him and I couldn't stand for that. Zelena did not say so in as many words, but I'm fairly certain the child belongs to Hades. They drag Robin into this hideous plan all because of some misguided anger at me. They toy with his body and his mind, like it's of absolutely no consequence, and after all that, Hades has the nerve to take a shot at him; like Robin doesn't have the right to be angry. I don't think so! Though, all that said, I didn't mean for what happened to happen. Robin told me you've talked with him about the shadow casting. I didn't choose it. I had no idea it was coming; Daddy. And, what's more, I don't want it. I've hardly gotten control of light magic, and now I'm supposed to master the potential for use of both the light and the dark at the same time. It's too soon for another magical evolution. I'm not ready."

Henry smiles and declares with quiet certainty, "Yes, you are. You just don't think you are. I believe that we aren't given things we're not ready for. Don't be afraid of it Regina. If you are, you'll be crippled by your own fear. You'll hurt yourself, and maybe someone else too. It's just another step in your journey. Maybe it's a gift in recognition of all your hard work. Many the universe has decided to trust you with something greater."

She laughs doubtfully. "A gift from where in the universe, and how do I return it?"

With his arm around her shoulder, her father laughs and says something he's said to her many, many times in the past. "Don't curse your blessings."

Regina touches his face affectionately. "Okay Daddy… But I still think I want to return this one."

"Do you realize that's the first time I've ever said that to you and you didn't roll your eyes in response? Give it time Regina. You may not want it now; but you will."

Okay. I hear you Daddy, but you can stop now. I need a break; before I do roll my eyes." She stands up; pulling him gently to his feet beside her. Come inside. I broke some glass earlier. I need to clean it up." She opens the front door; about to step through ahead of her father at his gentlemanly insistence but, before she can, she catches the faint sound of indistinct voices on the breeze. She stops and turns; glancing this way and that, looking for the source of the sound.

Uncertain about exactly what his daughter is looking for, Henry does the same. At first, he's not certain that he truly sees a small group of people weaving their way through the thickness of the forest. He's not at all certain until the youngest member of the group comes fully into view, sees the woman at his side, and closes the distance between them at a run.

"Mom!" The lanky, dark haired, young man calls out and hurls himself into Regina's waiting embrace.

 **Chapter 23: Saying Hello**

While the rest of the group approaches at a slower pace, Regina kisses the top of her son's head and enthusiastically returns his warm hug. She holds him tightly for as long as a boy of his youthful age will allow a mother to do, and when he takes a ½ step back, she brushes her fingers through his hair affectionately. Eyeing the lime green cord that connects the phone in his hand to the bud in his right ear, she laughs and teases. "You couldn't go a few days without video games?"

"Just listening to music; and just what's stored on my phone. Can't connect to any of my gaming accounts. I guess the underworld is a little short on cell towers." He grins and shrugs. Plus, it's probably not a good idea to be too distracted by my phone, or anything else, while walking around outdoors in this place. There is some kind of bomb or missile stuck in the roof of Grandma and Grandpa's loft. It's weird Mom! Their apartment is here; just waiting for them. The whole town. Only this place is about 100 times spookier than _The Walking Dead_. I don't think I'm going to watch the show anymore after seeing this place."

Henry pauses and frowns deeply. "Mom, what happened." He hesitantly touches the white gauze bandage above Regina's brow with gentle fingers.

She smiles and offers his hand a tender squeeze. "It's nothing you need to be worried about. I will heal. No permanent damage done."

"But Mom." Henry persists; his eyes clouding with worry. "What happened?"

She shrugs as if it was no big deal. "I stepped in between a target and the weapon aimed at it. I'm fine Henry. I promise."

Smart enough to know there's a great deal more to the story, a great deal more that she's not likely to tell him, Henry reluctantly backs off the topic. "Okay Mom… But next time, duck, would you?"

"I'll try. Ducking isn't always helpful, son. Sometimes you just have to take the hit." Seeking a change in subject Regina squeezes his shoulders as she gently turns him to face the man beside her. "Henry …" She says as the rest of the group comes to a stop at the back-porch steps and waits patiently for the introduction to be made.

Not waiting for the rest of his mother's attempt at formality, Henry smiles back at the man smiling at him. Instantly, a question forms in his eyes and he eagerly offers his hand to shake. "Hi, are you my Grandpa?"

More than pleased to return the gesture of greeting and respect, the older of the two declares, "indeed, it seems I am."

"Nice to meet you, sir!"

"The honor and the privilege are all mine Henry. Though, I must say, I wish our meeting could take place somewhere that is a great deal more pleasant."

Wholly unconcerned with such things, the boy shrugs. "I don't mind. I didn't think I would ever have the chance to meet you. So, this is cool!"

"This is…. cool?" The old man questions; quick to notice the unfamiliar vernacular of teenagers from his grandson's world."

"Yeah! Um … Sorry, I mean, yes sir. Mom hates it when I say 'yeah' but this is most definitely… cool. Mom talks about you a lot. She's really missed you."

"The feeling is mutual, my boy." Henry drapes one arm around his grandson's shoulders and the other around his daughter's as he nods in recognition of the rest of the group.

However, Regina speaks, addressing Emma, before he can offer any verbal greeting to them. "You just had to bring him to the underworld; did you?"

Emma shrugs, unaffected by the question. "For what it's worth, I did try to get him to stay home. I was afraid if we left him behind he would find his own way down here. I figured, better with me than without me."

Regina nods at Emma's logic, despite her own displeasure.

Young Henry rolls his eyes and flashes his smile; trying to smooth things over. "Mom, there was no way I was gonna sit at home eating pizza and playing Sword Quest while you guys are stuck down here trying to find your way home from the underworld. No way. I would've pestered Grandpa until he either brought me or locked me in a dungeon!" Henry nods for emphasis. "I haven't found it yet, but I'm convinced he has one somewhere beneath that shop of his."

Emma laughs dryly. "Kid, if Gold ever locks you in a dungeon…"

Regina finishes the thought as she hugs her son again. "He'll have both of us to answer to!"

"Make that, all three of us." Mary Margaret chimes in as she steps up onto the porch. "Hello Henry. I too, wish that it were under far better circumstances, but it's very good to see you again, sir."

"Hello Snow." Regina's father says with the warmth and kindness. "It's nothing short of marvelous to see you again… and for it to be in such a capacity. I can't thank you enough for coming to her aid." He gently takes the hand she offers and as Mary Margaret bows, he squeezes his daughter's shoulders with affection before glancing down at the majestic creature at her side. "Tell me Snow, do you always travel in the company of such a beautiful wolf?"

Glancing down, Mary Margaret kneels and apologizes as she drapes the vibrant red riding cloak that had been folded over her arm, over the animal's body. "Sorry, Ruby."

As Henry, Sr. watches, the shape under the cloak shifts and changes in size and dimension until the canine disappears and, a startlingly pretty, brunette rises from a crouch. Holding her cloak discreetly closed, and shielding herself from view, Ruby bows graciously in recognition of the king's compliment.

Regina raises an eyebrow. "Ruby, I thought you preferred to run wild and free under the moonlight; as opposed to sunlight."

"Oh, I do; believe me. I also prefer to do it without an audience standing by when I re-emerge. However, my senses are dulled down here. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until last night when the full moon rose. Otherwise, we would've been here sooner. We've been looking for you since yesterday morning. Even though they've been muted, my senses are stronger in wolf form. I couldn't find you without turning. Not down here."

As Ruby helps herself to the knapsack slung over her best friend's shoulder, Regina nods and offers, "All dark powers, and possibly anything that might be misconstrued as a dark power - such as the ability to turn into a wolf - flows into a collective down here. I think the purpose is twofold. First, the collective serves to keep the denizens of this realm under Hades' thumb, and second, he feeds off it. He uses it; hijacks it for himself. Basically, anyone he perceives as a possible threat, either to himself, or to his throne, is automatically weakened the moment they arrive here."

"Smart." Ruby says while checking to make sure all her things are in the knapsack. "I'm sure he doesn't want anybody like me getting a hold on him. Now, if you will all please excuse me…" She bows once again in apology for her less than proper attire before offering her, more customary, and slightly sassy smile. "I will go slip into something a little less comfortable... Regina where's the nearest bathroom in this enormous old round place."

"Second floor. Top of the stairs, third door on the left side of the arc. Robin's had more time to wander around here than I have. He's inside. Give a shout if you get lost; he'll help."

As Ruby slips into the barn, Regina turns her attention, yet again, back to the two males standing nearest her, but before she can speak, Hook's eyes go wide in surprise. "You mean to tell me that she was bloody naked under all that fur this whole time?"

David chuckles as he offers to shake hands with Henry. Emma takes a backhanded swipe at Hook's chest, and Regina announces sardonically, "Ladies and gentlemen, the one-handed wonder just joined the party!" while Mary Margret raises an eyebrow and questions. "Didn't you see the pile of clothes I picked up after she turned?"

"I missed that. I must've been flirting with your daughter."

Chuckling, Mary Margaret rolls her eyes as Emma takes another whack at Hook's chest

Trying to put a stopper is their nonsense, Regina looks around; asking, "Gold didn't come with you?"

Emma shoots Regina a look that says she is heavily editing her words. "Didn't want to. Afraid of his own… immortality."

Regina rolls her bottom lip in thoughtfully. "Can't say he doesn't have reason to be. Still, how did you all get here without him?"

Emma removes the obsidian vial from the pocket of her leather jacket. "Don't need him. Only need his blood - His scary, acidic, blood."

Hook picks this moment to quote a memorable line from a movie He's only just recently watched with Henry. "Hasta lasagna; don't get any on ya!"

Young Henry chuckles. "Hey, that was pretty good Hook! You got one right."

Smiling at the banter, Regina asks hesitantly. "Did he give it up willingly, or are we going to go home to one thoroughly pissed off Dark One."

Emma drops the vial back into her pocket for safekeeping and holds up her hands in a comically defensive posture. "Hey, I didn't slice and dice. He did the deed himself. He was nowhere near as colorful as Hook, but he did tell me." She pats her pocket for emphasis. To be careful. Not to spill it, 'anywhere I shouldn't."

"Of course not." Regina answers in a deadpan voice. "Who could possibly be more colorful than Hook."

"I try, Love. Seriously though." He drops the snarky sarcasm. "Bloody good to see you, Regina. All the street urchins in this depraved place are talking. Judging by that bandage, I'm guessing at least some of the rumors are true. You and Hades trade a few love taps; did you?"

"It was just a quick dance around the room. We're all still standing."

"Does that include your sister?" Mary Margaret inquires.

Regina sighs with an undeniable hint of regret. "It does. There is some good news… And some not so good news. She gives Mary Margaret a look that says, "We'll talk more about it later." Before she offers out loud, "I'm fairly certain the baby belongs to Hades."

Mary Margaret's eyes go wide. She opens her mouth to ask a question, and then snaps it shut again, dumbfounded.

Less inclined to be discreet, and unaware of the silent bit of conversation that just took place between the two women, Hook queries, "There's a baby?" Then he cringes in disgust as another, supremely disturbing, thought occurs to him. "Who, in their bloody right mind, would get naked with the dark lord of the underworld?"

Unable to completely restrain herself, Regina puts her hands on her hips as she laughs. "Is that your word for the day, Hook - naked?"

Unashamed, the pirate shrugs and flashes his devil-may-care grin. It's a nice word, Love. I like it."

Emma thumps him on the chest again. This time, hard enough to make him flinch, as she hisses beneath her breath. "Will you stop? I swear, I can't take you anywhere!"

The back door opens again and Robin steps out onto the porch; earning himself a look of lighthearted disapproval from Regina when he says. "Give the fella a break. He speaks no lies. That is a nice word."

As Emma steps up onto the porch with the intent to introduce herself to one of the two men her son is named for, Robin steps up close behind Regina and wraps an arm around her. Quietly he says, "You better come inside and have a look at what you broke. It's a bit more of a mess then I'm going to be able to clean up in a few minute's time."

Nodding in acknowledgement of his words and turning for the door, Regina offers, "Let's all go inside. Daddy…" She gestures first, and then points. This is Emma Swan; Snow and David's daughter. That derelict in leather over there is her pirate, Captain, Killian Jones… Better known as Hook."

As they all file into the barn, Mary Margaret walks into the center of a large room and then turns a slow circle, looking about at the turn-of-the -17th-century, sun drenched kitchen, with its enormous old-world stone fireplace coupled with all the comforts and conveniences of modern day appliances. "Wow!" She breathes quietly. "Just… Wow! This has got to be the only place down here that looks better than it does in Storybrooke… A lot better. I mean, I hadn't seen the barn in Storybrooke, but Henry told us about it earlier. He said the one up there is falling down. Obviously, somebody did a lot of work to the place."

Regina smiles, lightly caressing Robin's shoulder with affection as she steps up beside him. "Not yet… but he's going to."

Mary Margaret raises an eyebrow. "Who, Robin… What? You going to move in?"

"I was starting to think about it. I hadn't made a decision. Seeing this… Seeing how well everything fits together." He smiles at Regina as she laces her fingers with his. "Yes. I do believe I will."

Emma chuckles nervously as she walks around the room; stopping in an archway to peer into the great room beyond, before turning to say, "Robin, I think it might be possible to get the tents of all your merry men into this room. If it's not, I'm absolutely certain they will all fit into that one." She points her thumb over her shoulder. "And there are three stories… At least, I think that's what I counted from outside. What on earth does a widower with one kid – one who is used to living in a tent - need with all this space?"

"Roland and I don't need all this space, but we are thinking about expanding the family to include a few more."

It takes a moment for the penny to drop before Emma raises an eyebrow and looks Regina's way. Their son, on the other hand, catches on immediately. Having assumed previously that they were only using the place for shelter, Henry, looks around with new interest. Stepping closer to Emma, he peers over her shoulder into the larger living space and then turns to face Regina with bright eager eyes. "Mom? We're going to live here?"

She nods. "Probably. Someday. It's going to take a lot of work. The place in Storybrooke is in dismal condition."

"Sure. But look at this? This place is awesome! Or, it's going to be awesome!"

"It's also cleaner than our place down here," David says. "More lived in… Less abandoned to the foils of death and destruction."

"It wasn't last night. This morning Regina…" Robin demonstrates as he talks; wiggling his fingers in the air. "Magically tidied the place up a bit."

Mary Margaret turns to her with a new thought. "If we're going to be down here for a while, I hope we're not, but if we are, can you come do that at the loft."

Regina shrugs. "Sure, but I haven't found out what I broke yet. She looks around, not seeing anything obviously shattered within sight. "Depending on what I find, you may want to ask Emma to do that."

Robin chuckles softly. "I suggest we never tell Roland this. He might find it disappointing to know that, while trying to clean up, you shattered the giant snow globe he intends to live inside of. Not to mention every north-facing window in this house."

Regina cringes. "No? I didn't? Did I?" She steps toward the great room, gently but eagerly shooing Emma and Henry out of her path as she goes. Once through the archway, she hurries for the spiral staircase only to have Robin dart after her, wrap his arms around her waist, and pull her gently back to safety.

When she glances back over her shoulder to give him a puzzled look, he reminds her quietly, "There's broken glass everywhere, and lots of it… your feet."

She glances down at her bare feet and then smiles almost sheepishly before shrugging and offering him a quick kiss of thanks. Hurriedly, she steps back through the kitchen, and out onto the porch to retrieve her shoes.

In the moment that she is gone, Ruby quietly re-joins the group thinking to herself, that even with all the broken glass this place is awe-inspiring.

Back inside, with her feet properly protected, Regina retraces her steps and stares open-mouthed in shock at the mess in the great room that she hadn't intended to make. Everyone follows along watching as she lifts her eyes, her gaze traveling upward to the shattered octagonal skylight far overhead.

She closes her eyes and covers her mouth as a moan of misery escapes her throat. "Oh Robin, what a mess!" She whispers as his arms find their way around her waist again. "I'm sorry. It's a wonder I didn't kill you, trying to heal you after that dog got hold of you!"

Robin wrinkles his nose and shakes his head. "Now, none of that. There's nothing to apologize for. I was perfectly safe. You made the mess. You can clean it up. All you need is the right motivation."

When Regina raises an eyebrow; he chuckles. "You just weren't worked up enough. That's why this happened. You were perfectly calm when you did this."

David squints. "You're not suggesting she become homicidal over some broken glass. I know there's a lot of it, but it's just a glass."

"Of course not. It doesn't have to be rage, fear, or any other negative emotion, but she does seem to do her best work when she's feeling particularly passionate about one thing or another."

Hook grins. "Right then. Go on, Mate. Make the lady feel passionately about something." He quick steps out of her reach this time when Emma discreetly attempts to pinch him. "What? He said it. I'm just suggesting that he follow his own advice!"

"There's more than one reason to feel passionate, you reprobate!" Emma hisses; while trying to smother a chuckle."

"True." Robin smiles. "But… that one should do nicely. Eh... You all may want to step back just a wee little bit." He declares before he tightens his embrace and looks down into the eyes of the women in his arms. The light in his own eyes speaking volumes that won't dare to cross his lips in such company. "Hi." He whispers with affection.

Regina smiles sweetly and whispers back, "Hi."

Their group of friends, does indeed, step back; quite a bit further than is actually necessary.

Their foreheads come together, and long seconds before their lips actually meet, in a brief but tender kiss, shards of broken glass begin to rise; traveling slowly upward, swirling around them gently, in a perfectly reversed path. The skylight and all other broken windows in the barn, even those not presently within sight, magically mend themselves as Regina and Robin momentarily separate themselves from the rest of the underworld around them.

Noticing the pride glowing in his eyes, Mary Margaret quietly steps up beside the senior man in the room before she whispers, "Wow! Why couldn't Cora have taught her how to use magic with that for a trigger."

The king smiles with hope alight in his gaze and answers just as quietly. "Because my dear, the only magical trigger Cora understands is vengeance. You can't teach a child to love with a heart that holds only vengeance."

"Well… With Robin's kind of help… I think she's getting a feel for light magic in record time. Which is good. Something tells me, we're going to need it to get back home again."

"You'll make it." He assures quietly. "For the first time in her life… I'm not worried about my daughter."

"Wow!" She repeats softly. "That has to feel pretty good."

"You have no idea, Snow… no idea." Then, sensing that the moment is coming to a close, he mentally shifts gears. "Go on. Go talk to them. Go plan an exit strategy."

When he steps away with his hands clasped behind his back, she asks, "You aren't joining us, sir?"

"I think not. It's not as though I will be leaving with you. I think, instead, I'll make good use of what time I have, and get to know my grandson." He clears his throat, his voice returning to normal, he asks, "Henry, what do you say you and I take a turn about the old place and see what discoveries she has to offer?"

The boy smiles and eagerly steps to his grandfather's side. "Sounds good to me, sir."

 **Chapter 24: The Foibles and Follies of Adolesance**

"Maybe you can tell me about Mom when she was my age." Young Henry offers a potential topic of conversation. As his grandfather's arm comes to rest around his shoulders, he asks, "What was she like?"

As they walk away together, Regina glances their way with a quiet groan. From her place, still nestled in Robin's arms, she says, "Daddy, don't tell him anything too horrid."

The king glances back over his shoulder at Regina with an obvious look of confusion. "There's nothing horrid that can be told." He squeezes Henry shoulders. "Not when you were this age." He winks at his daughter affectionately, then turns his attention back to his grandson and offers in a conspiratorial stage whisper, "Back then, it was all normal teenaged angst. Well… except for the fact that she was magical. Which, for a non-magical parent, at times came as both, a blessing, and a curse. You see… she had already mastered her ability to turn young men your age into goats!"

In shock, Henry turns, drawing quiet laughter from all the adults, save one, when he cries out in disapproval and protest, "Mom! You turned boys into goats?"

In response to the growl of frustration that rises in her throat, Robin kisses her temple and then throws back his head and laughs boldly when as she declares, "It was one boy! One boy! Singular; not plural, and…" She stomps her foot. "He deserved it!" She thumps Robin's shoulder roughly with the heel of her hand. "Stop laughing! It's not funny! It wasn't funny! He was awful. He was an awful… disgusting boy. His fingernails were always crusted with dirt and grime. He had bad allergies and his nose was always runny." Regina shivers in antipathy. "He had impetigo!"

"What is impetigo?" Her son asks, looking to the adults for clarification.

Mary Margaret supplies the answer. It's a bacterial infection that presents with patches of a yellowish crusty skin rash, that may itch or be painful. There are other causes, but it is most commonly seen on toddlers and young children whose faces and hands aren't washed often enough. Especially when they have a habit for wiping their noses on the backs of their own hands. Treatment is usually rather simple. Wash up. Seeing the condition in someone your age, Henry, is usually rare."

Henry turns his gaze back to the older of his two grandfathers in the room. "But, why did she turn him into a goat?"

The senior man shrugs. "I have no idea. She never would answer that question. At least not completely. Try as I might, to get the truth out of her… all she ever said, was …'He deserved it. His name was Jeremy. However, your mother never called him that." The king chuckles with the warm light of memory glistening in his eyes. "His mother, the duchess, thought Regina was simply mispronouncing his name. I suspect otherwise. She called him Germie."

Regina glowers. "He did deserve it! And no… it was not a mispronunciation. His mother was a vile, mean woman. And… He was Germie… The eighth dwarf"

"Alright dear." Her father chuckles and raises a patient eyebrow. "But I'd still like to know why you did that, and now, so would your son."

Stepping out of Robin's arms, Regina looks around the room at all the expectant faces of friends who are working hard to contain their laughter. Moving for the kitchen once more, she asks, "You all aren't going to let this go, are you?"

Ruby chuckles as Mary Margaret says brightly, "Of course not! Where would be the fun in that it?"

Regina groans and crooks her right index finger in a come-hither gesture. "Fine! Follow; if you must."

They do all follow, quite eagerly. They watch and wait impatiently in the kitchen as she helps herself to a few bottles of water from a cellophane wrapped package on the kitchen counter. She also opens a box of tea bags, realizing that Robin must've pick these things up sometime yesterday when he went into town for supplies. She is silent for a long moment, searching her memory, collecting her thoughts, and turning the story over in her mind, trying to decide how to edit it.

When Robin realizes what she's up to, he tosses a few more logs into the kitchen fireplace to stoke the dying fire waiting there; without needing to be asked. Then, he locates a suitable kettle and teapot from a kitchen cabinet and takes over tea preparation. When he smiles and raises a curious eyebrow; reminding her that they are all still waiting, Regina gives up. She glances at her son thoughtfully and can't help but resent the truth just a little bit. He's old enough to know.

"Fine." She sighs. "If you really must know; he was revolting! He stuck his tongue in my mouth and tried to put his hand up my skirt!" She looks pointedly at her father. "He was not granted any invitation to do so."

"Well, of course not. You were what? 12 at that time? Jeremy was what… 13 or 14"

"Daddy, I do not think my tender age vexed him at all."

Henry squints at his daughter. "I don't understand your reluctance to tell us. Did you really think you couldn't? He'd have had a right good thrashing if you had. I can promise you that, but you wouldn't have been in any trouble, Regina." He chuckles awkwardly. I realize it was probably embarrassing but…"

Regina sighs heavily with exasperation. "I wasn't embarrassed, Daddy. And I wouldn't have minded if he had been on the receiving end of a sound whipping. You would've been angry, but eventually you would have stopped yourself. Mother wouldn't have, and we both know it. She would've killed him. How dare the lowly youngest son of a duchess presume to put his grubby little hands on a future queen. He was a nasty little boy, but he didn't deserve to die for it."

"Ahh, you felt compelled to protect the boy from his own stupidity."

"And, I hated him for that fact. How dare he do that to me, when I didn't want him to, and then make me feel responsible for his welfare." She shivers again.

Her father chuckles. "So, you turned him into a goat."

Regina nods quickly for emphasis. "I told you… he deserved it."

Grandfather turns to grandson. "Only, at the time, we didn't know all this Henry. All we knew was that she was upset with the boy… for whatever reason. She turned him into a goat, and then, when we all started yelling at her to reverse the spell, she got nervous and forgot the spell. She couldn't change him back… Not for a solid month.

Regina purses her lips and wrinkles her nose. "Well… That part wasn't exactly true, Daddy. I didn't forget the spell. His mother made me mad! She called me a spoiled, horrid, little half-whit. I'm sure we could stand here and debate endlessly over whether, or not, I was spoiled. There's no denying it was horrid of me. But I was not stupid! As far as I was concerned, if she was going to call me names, then she could just go home and nail down everything in her palace because her son, the goat, was probably going to eat it all. And I hoped it hurt when whatever he ate came out the other end of him."

They all give up the effort to restrain themselves and laugh openly.

Robin wraps his arms around her once more, holding her from behind as he kisses the top of her head,

Mary Margaret offers, "It's true, it wasn't very nice of her, but in her defense, I know the family she's talking about. The duchess was a mean woman. We all put up with her for the sake of propriety. She wasn't evil, just mean and hurtful. Picking on small children seemed to make her feel better about her own unhappy life. Which is probably where her sons learned the behavior. If it'll make you feel any better Regina, she once called me a spoiled, arrogant, royal, little demon child because I hit Jeremy over the head with one of my father's 4-inch-thick tomes after he deliberately broke one of my porcelain dolls. Not nearly the same experience, I know, but with the slight age gap between us, these two events probably happened about the same time. My mother wouldn't let me into my father's library for about a month after that. She said if I was going to ruin the spines on his books with such unladylike behavior, I just wouldn't be allowed in there. It broke my heart. I loved Dad's library."

"Yes, I remember." Regina says regrettably, because she'd deliberately chosen to have the room sealed out of spite following Leopold's death.

Speaking up again her father offers, I think Regina spent about six weeks locked in her room after the goat-turning incident." Cora was furious because she wouldn't change him back."

Regina shakes her head. "Mother wasn't angry because I wouldn't change him back, Daddy. She couldn't have cared less if he had stayed a goat for the rest of his life. She was livid, because she told me to change him back, and I said no! No one dared to say no to her. She let me out after a month. I was so relieved to see the outdoors again, that I ran off into the forest and didn't come home for two days, not until I was so hungry I didn't have a choice. She locked me back in there for another two weeks. It was horrible. Try to save the little cretin's life, and I'm the one that ended up under house arrest. At least Daddy would slip in and come play chess with me when he could. The two of you should look around – see if you can find a chessboard somewhere in this place. Have a game." She smiles at her son. Some of my best memories revolve around playing chess with your grandfather.

Liking the idea, the boy nods eagerly. "Come on Grandpa. Mom's bound to have a library, or a study somewhere in this place. I bet we'll find a chessboard there." He trots away with the older man content to follow; leaving the rest of them alone to talk.

 **Chapter 25: The Plan**

The seven of them either sit, or stand, gathered around one end of a large heavy polished oak table with intricately detailed hand carving and scroll work. David, Hook, and Emma sip coffee that is dark, robust and fragrant while Robin and Mary Margaret prefer their tea. Ruby and Regina select water for themselves and the whole group munches casually from the convenience of napkins or dessert plates on the simple fare Robin could pick up either at the underworld market, or courtesy of one of his foraging trips through the forest.

He opens the conversation with, "If we're going to be staying for any length of time at all then, at least one of us needs to do something about food. The market here is in deplorable condition. The windows are busted out, most of the produce is not worth having, people just walk in and take what they want. I was tempted to do the same myself yesterday, but the poor guy who runs the place looked like he could use a break. I purchased what you see here, but that's about the extent of the funds I have on me. If we're going to subsist on more than just a few nuts and berries and non-perishables, some fishing and hunting is going to be in order. We have no electricity here but…" He tilts his head toward the expansive fireplace. "I can cook just about anything over an open flame."

Mary Margaret nods. "It might be a good idea to stay away from Granny's too."

"That place is not Granny's" Ruby says with obvious disdain. "Not down here."

David sets his coffee cup down. "If we must stay, I've got no problem helping with the hunting and fishing, but before we look at the possibility of staying down here, even for a short time, can we talk about what it's going to take to get us home? We do have a son we need to be getting back to. So. does Robin. Roland is fine, by the way. A bit shaken up, obviously, but Little John and the nuns are taking turns looking after him."

Robin nods. "You have my gratitude."

Emma sets the obsidian vial down in the center of the table. "There's enough blood left in the vial to call the ferry one more time. Six of us came over. Six of us can go back. I don't think it has to be the same six people. Gold just said, however many went, the same number had to make the return trip. That still leaves two of us here - Eh, unless you plan on bringing Zelena back. Then, we need a way to get three of us back home again."

"Hades opened that damn portal. I suggest we find a way to make him open it and send us back." Regina shrugs.

Hook raises an eyebrow. "Not trying to play Lord Death's advocate here, but how do you suggest we do that, Your Majesty. If we entice him to be rid of us, what's to keep him from killing us instead of sending us home?"

"I can do that. I drew his blood once, I can do it again."

"Okay then. What's to keep him from killing you, love… in retaliation for that spilled blood."

I may be one of the very few people down here who actually has the power to hurt him; to cause him pain and suffering. The way I see it, there are a few reasons he only pulls dark power into that collective. One, he doesn't want to be contaminated. Two, he has no idea how to trigger the light stuff. Therefore, he can't utilize it. Why let it take up space in if he can't use it? Third, I don't imagine there are a great many practitioners of light magic down here. It's only a guess, but I'm betting that people full of that much light are quick to cross over. Either they don't have much unfinished business, or they find it easier to let go and release themselves from this place. Even if he could use such power, I'm betting there is far less of it to be had down here, and he would be a great deal weaker. For him, the darkness offers the greater advantage."

Mary Margaret wipes her mouth on a paper napkin before speaking. "Contaminated? You make it sound like he thinks being filled with hope and light is a disease."

"He does see it that way, Snow."

"But how do you know? Did you have a nice long chat with him while you were… What did you call it, Hook? Trading love taps."

"No." Regina laughs drolly. "I'm not interested in chatting with him. Even if I were, I don't need to. I know he sees it that way, because that's the way I saw it not too terribly long ago. In fact, to be perfectly honest, sometimes I still see it that way. Sometimes it's an irritating little infirmity that stubbornly an annoyingly keeps me from annihilating those who would stand against me."

"Infirmity? Love is a weakness?" David's wife raises an eyebrow. "That's your mother talking Regina; not you."

"No. I'm not listening to Mother anymore. At least I don't think I am. She had it all wrong. I shouldn't have said infirmity, like it is a weakness. It's not. Not when the thing that makes you weak is also the very thing that gives you greater strength. Without it, I couldn't have done what I did two days ago, or even two years ago. I don't think Cora ever understood that about love. I'm not sure she's even capable of understanding the complexity of it all. I've barely just grasped the notion myself. Love isn't weakness or infirmity… but sometimes it sure is one hell of a gigantic stumbling block. Especially when all you really want to do is just… set the wicked little bitch on fire." She sneers and flexes her fingers as if she's a breath away from strangling someone.

Mary Margaret reaches across the table and gently covers one of Regina's hands with her own. "Stumbling blocks make you fall Regina. They won't lift you up to the light in a moment of true weakness; they can't."

Regina sighs and nods, staying quiet for a long beat before gently drawing back her hand and saying. "I think we can get him to let us go home… If we scare him."

"Okay, I'm listening." Emma says. "How do we scare a dark god."

"Take away the thing he loves or, at the very least, the thing he covets. I'm not sure he's capable of love."

"What does Hades covet?

"Haven't you been listening? Power; dark power; and lots of it." She pauses to look around the room making eye contact with each of them before continuing. "Dark power flows in here, but not out. Or, it flows in and it only trickles out. If we can cut off his supply, or at the very least, lessen his supply, he'll get weaker. If we can pull the plug so that power flows out as quickly as it flows in - He has no power of his own, he uses the power of others. – I think, when he feels himself getting weaker, he'll send us packing. I don't think he's itching to go another round with me. If he were, I think he would've already come knocking. It would've been best to do it while I was weakest after our last encounter. Before I got up this morning, I'd been asleep for the last 36 hours. If he wanted me dead, that would've been the time to strike. He's giving me time to recover, which doesn't make sense, unless… unless I hurt him worse than I think I did. Maybe he's recovering too, and if that's the case, we need to move now. If we can weaken him even more before he does come calling… well, he's not stupid. He's a self-preservationist. It's not in his best interest to take on all of us."

Ruby tries not to, but she can't help but chuckle. "The underworld is like a dingy, dirty, leaky old cesspool of a bathtub. Power, like water, flows in, but leaks out slowly because the large population of dark people who reside here have a habit of sticking around?"

Regina wrinkles her nose in disgust but nods. "Yes, exactly."

David squints and looks to Robin. "She slept for the last 36 hours?"

Robin nods while Regina confirms verbally. "Yes, I did, and I'm not yet ready to talk about the reason why."

Emma gives voice to the thought that is going through most of their minds. "Regina people don't sleep for Thirty-six hours straight unless something is very wrong."

"Something was very wrong. It's better now. Otherwise, I wouldn't be awake. Point is, I was asleep, and he didn't ride in in a hail of brimstone and fire and finish me off. Either he's hurt, scared, or he's planning something - possibly a combination of all three. The longer we wait to act, the stronger, bolder, and more devious he's going to get."

Robin pulls out the chair closest to her. Sitting down, he laces his fingers with hers. "How do we pull the plug?"

"Daddy said something to me this morning while we were talking alone out on the porch. He said, that he has so many regrets that he is not even sure which one is keeping him here. If that's how it works, if regrets turn into unfinished business, become things we need to make peace with before we can move on. Then, maybe we should help people do that. I realize not everybody down here is going to be eager to work with us… But some might. Chances are, if the people down here have unfinished business, for a lot of them… we are that unfinished business. If we can help people cross over to where they belong…"

Robin catches on. "Then we can pull the plug on his power or, at the very least, make the grimy bathtub drain faster. If we get started while the leech is convalescing, maybe he won't be strong enough to kill us. He'll send us home just to protect his domain… His personal seat of power." He falls silent for a moment. "But Regina… He will try. He will come after us. When that happens, are you going to be ready?"

Loving him for the worry and concern she sees in his blue eyes, Regina touches his face gently. "We're not alone any more Robin." She glances pointedly at Emma, before swiveling her gaze to include the rest of them. If you're all up for this, then I think I know where to start. I'm not leaving my father down here to suffer any longer than he already has. It's my fault he's here to begin with. I can't undo that fact. It's not within my power to resurrect the dead. Even if I could go back in time and change it; I wouldn't. If I did, Mary Margaret, you and David wouldn't have Neal. I wouldn't have Henry, or Robin or Roland. And, we'd probably still be feuding, all of us running around the Enchanted Forest; still trying to kill each other. I'd like the afternoon to spend with my father. I don't deserve it, but I'd like the chance to say a proper goodbye. Tomorrow, we'll go find Henry's storybook… Wherever it happens to be in this forsaken place… And we will get started."

Regina waits until she sees each one of them nod somberly before she gets up and quietly leaves the room.

 **Chapter 26: She's Like That**

Grandfather and grandson sit on opposite sides of a simple unadorned chessboard carved in maple and walnut paying little mind to their game. Instead, the conversation has the lion's share of their attention.

"I like the early years best Henry. Most people probably still wouldn't believe this, but she was such a sweet child. Her mother was determined to change that. Cora thinks any kindness shown is weakness. So, in her mind, she was only making your mother strong; by snuffing out that kindness. Shortly before Regina was your age, she started hiding that sweetness. It was still there, down deep inside, she hid it away to protect both it, and herself. She wouldn't allow most people see it, because every time Cora saw it, she would punish your mother in cruel, horrible ways, both physically and emotionally. Extremely few people ever saw her smile or express how touched she truly was if someone did her a kindness. I see it easier than most, because I saw it first. I saw it before all the darkness came. I know you see it. Daniel did too…"

Henry smiles as he relinquishes a pawn. "Yeah, I kinda figured he did. Of course, I never got to meet him, but I do know about him."

The old man nods and pauses to chuckle "Though, how he first saw any kindness in her, I don't know. At first, she treated him terribly. He was just the palace stable boy. He was there to serve her and beyond that she paid him no mind. Meanwhile, he did his job. If we asked him to complete a task, he did. However, if we took it upon ourselves to see to our own riding tack, he didn't fall all over himself trying to help just because we were royalty. Cora didn't like that about him, she wanted – no, she expected people to bow and scrape before her. I did like that about him. He'd serve, but he wouldn't lower himself just to exult us. Anyway, He ignored Regina's initial condescension and her snobbery. He treated her with respect, but he wouldn't let her push him around too much. He stood up to her when it mattered."

He pauses to chuckle again as some old memory lights up his face. "I happened upon them one day out there in the stables. Regina absolutely detested the proper lady's saddles Cora insisted she use. To her way of thinking, sitting side saddle, like a proper lady was just plain dangerous. How was she supposed to feel safe in the saddle if she was only supposed to perch atop the animal's back, as opposed to holding on to it with her thighs. I must say, I have to agree with her… not that I ever tried sitting side saddle, mind you… but it's not difficult to imagine that way offers a lot less control. Anyhow, one day, she slipped out of the palace and down to the stables where she preceded to help herself to one of my stallions and one of my saddles. I clearly remember Daniel quietly approaching. 'Pardon me, Majesty, but that horse and his saddle are too big for you."

Henry Sr. shakes his head. "If looks could kill… Well, that young man would have dropped dead right there and then; on that very spot. She told him very plainly that his assistance was not needed and that if he wanted to keep his job, he would stick to caring for the animals and leave her in peace."

Regina's teenage son laughs. "I know that tone of voice. I've heard it. More than once. Mom used to talk to Robin that way too. Like he was really annoying. I think she just didn't want him to like her. You know - like maybe she already did like him, but she just didn't want to. Maybe since she couldn't talk herself out of liking him, she tried to talk him out of liking her. Kinda like she tried to scare him off. Only thing was, Robin wouldn't go. He knows who she was, but he's not scared of her. I don't think he ever has been."

Henry smiles. "Then, she has a habit for attracting such men. Daniel wasn't scared of her either. I don't even think he was offended. If he was, it didn't show in the least. That first day at the stables with her He simply said, 'Do as you wish, but if I were you, I'd tighten up that flank cinch a bit more. Regina didn't listen to him. He let her get on the horse and ride off toward the pond. He went back to his work for all of about forty-five seconds, then shook his head, saddled his own horse, and informed the animal, 'Come on, boy. We'd better go get her, or at least be close by when she falls.' Much to her embarrassment, she did take a fall that day. He scooped her up, ignored her embarrassment and the anger that was meant to hide it. He readjusted the saddle to suit her better and made her get back up there and try again. After that, they danced around each other for months. He was nice to her but wouldn't let her bully him. She was abrasive, but he kept trying. Maybe because she'd run out there to the stables to hide her pain after all her confrontations with Cora. She didn't seek his company or his comfort; at least not at first, but he saw her heartache. Goodness knows he witnessed all the squabbles, and the outright heated arguments, that centered around riding lessons. Regina always loved her horse no matter what age she was - even at her darkest, she nurtured her horses - but she didn't really enjoy riding until Daniel decided to teach her what she wanted to know. I have no idea where the lad got the money to do it, but eventually he had a saddle custom made for her. I'm certain that's when things shifted between them. She wouldn't want anyone to know it…"

Henry sees and correctly interprets the silent question in his grandfather's eyes. "It's okay Grandpa; whatever it is, I'll never tell. Mom still has that saddle. She probably cried when Daniel gave it to her; but probably not in front of him. I bet that's what you were gonna say. Mom's like that. She can't stand for anyone to see her let go. If someone catches her at a moment like that, she gets mad."

Henry's grandfather's smile is tinged with understanding and touch of sadness "Henry, anger… all anger comes from fear. Angry people, at their core, are really just scared people. They hide their fear beneath all the anger; deep down inside in places that they don't let just anyone get close to."

"That actually makes sense. I know she did bad things, Grandpa. She did lots of bad things. I saw some of them, but still; I always saw the other parts too. She's afraid of Cora, Isn't she?"

Henry, Sr. sighs and nods. "You're smart, and you've got good instincts too, Henry. Don't be afraid to trust them; ever. Yes, she's afraid of her mother, but there's more to it. She's afraid of her - and she loves her too. It's a terrible thing to have to feel both ways at the same time. I've watched that particular burden nearly drive all traces of light right out of your mother. That's what Cora wants, to drive away the light. But, Henry, light is always stronger than darkness. Regina has always been stronger than Cora. She just doesn't know it. If there's a flicker of light. There is hope. There is a chance at grace. And I'm guessing, that old saddle probably reminds your mother of more than just Daniel. It probably reminds her of the person she was when he gave it to her; and I think she wants to be that person again."

"She will not let anybody else touch it. Not even me. Occasionally, she might let me go riding with her. Usually, she won't. She likes to be by herself when she rides. I think it's because, she's not really by herself. She's alone with Daniel, or at least, along with his memory anyway. I guess, sometimes she still needs to be. She probably cries then too, but she'd hate for anybody to know that. It's probably okay to tell you but, I'd never tell anyone else. Not even Robin. I can keep her secrets."

"I'm certain you're right; she probably does. And, she did cry over the gift when she received it. She cherished it. She hid that saddle away under lock and key; she was fierce about not only, caring for it herself, maintaining its condition, but also about protecting it; keeping its existence a secret from her mother. Cora would have destroyed it if she had known about it."

Regina's father falls silent for long moments that have nothing to do with his need to concentrate on the chess game before him. When he finally feels he can continue, he says, "After Daniel's death; I worried she'd never open herself up to the possibility of love again, and… simply because you're right - she wouldn't want it - You shouldn't tell Robin about what you suspect. It's important to keep a confidence, but let's be clear about something. Just because you shouldn't reveal such things, doesn't mean that you should be afraid to. I'm confident, that if he doesn't already know about her solitary riding habits, Robin could handle such news, and handle it quite well. I think he's smart enough not be bothered by it. He knows what it is to lose love. Just because you remember one doesn't mean you love the next any less. I suspect, from what Regina has already told me about him, that Robin knows, all too well, how that pain never goes away, Henry. Not ever. You just sort of learn to make room for it in your life, at least if you survive the loss."

"Well, I don't think you to worry anymore about Mom never risking love again Grandpa. I didn't know they were serious enough to be thinking about moving in together - not until I got here and saw this place. That was sort of a surprise. But not a very big one. He loves Mom. She loves him too. Well, more than that. She trusts him. She gave him her heart."

The old king smiles and raises a skeptical eyebrow. "Did your mother actually tell you that, my boy?"

Intuitively picking up on his grandfather's doubt, Henry squints. Realizing his mistake, after a careful moment's thought, he clarifies. "No, Grandpa. Mom wasn't being mushy. I mean she literally gave him her heart! You know… as in … she took it out of her own chest and handed it to him."

"She did what?" The old man sits up straight; his posture suddenly becoming rigid.

The young man across the table tries not to, but he can't help but laugh at his grandfather's wide-eyed expression.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to raise my voice. It's just -do you understand the gravity of such an act, Henry?"

"Yes sir. I know all about the whole heart crushing thing, and even worse, the control thing. See, Mom took her own heart out because Aunt Zelena was trying to steal Uncle Neal. She knew she was going to have to deal with her. She said that, given her family history taking her heart along for such a confrontation was just plain stupid." She gave it to Robin for safekeeping., That was pretty major, but not the most important part. I don't think they even knew it yet, but I knew they were crazy about each other when he lost her heart, and she didn't even yell at him. Not once."

Watching alarm register on his grandfather's face, Henry pats the air, silently asking for patience. "See, it wasn't his fault, Grandpa. He had no choice. Zelena found out he had it. She tried to kill Roland - or at least, she threatened to. Robin handed it over to save his son. He told Mom he was sorry, but Mom told him that nothing was worth the loss of a child. He promised her he would get it back, and he did. They've kind of been through some stuff already. Even before Aunt Zelena tried to steal him away."

Henry, Sr. chuckles and relaxes in his chair once more. Leaning back as if the wind has gone out of him, he whispers. "I'll say!"

 **Chapter 27: The First Shadow**

"Is everything okay in here?" Regina suddenly appears - trying too hard not to look concerned - in the doorway of a room she clearly decorated with her own comfort in mind. An elegant home office/library; fit for a queen on the second floor of the converted octagonal shaped barn.

The two of them smile at her with mirth shining in their eyes. "Of course, dear." and "Sure Mom… Why?" are their immediate answers.

Well aware that something has transpired without knowing exactly what, Regina gives them a skeptical smile. "I heard raised voices."

"Oh that." Her son answers. "That was no big deal. I told Grandpa that you gave your heart to Robin. You know, when Aunt Zelena was trying to collect the ingredients for her time traveling spell."

Stepping close, Regina pats her father's shoulder affectionately. "Well that explains 'She did what?' I should've known you were talking about me. It's not like this is the first time I've ever heard those words come out of your mouth, along with that same tone, and I'm pretty sure that it was always in reference to me. It's just been a few years." She chuckles. You can relax. It was not a risk, Daddy. Not with Robin. I don't regret doing it. If the need arose, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again."

"Regina ordinarily I take everything your mother says with a grain of salt, and he's certainly done nothing to earn my distrust, but I do remember talk. Talk from sources other than Cora. I don't know about now, but the man had a reputation as a thief."

"Yes, and that reputation has outlived its worth. But, even if it hadn't, it still wouldn't be relevant."

"If I understand you correctly, then you are telling me he is reformed - but also that even if he weren't, you still wouldn't find a cause for alarm handing something as valuable as a human heart to a thief – your heart?"

Regina smiles as she leans over and kisses her father's cheek. Quietly she admits. "Robin asked me the same thing."

"And?"

"And, I'll tell you the same thing I told him." She whispers confidently. "You can't steal something that's been given to you."

"That was a rather brazen gamble, Regina!"

"No Daddy; it wasn't." She whispers just as quietly.

Her father starts to say something more, then stops. "Aren't you supposed to be planning your escape?"

"We have a plan in place. An initial plan anyway."

"An initial plan?"

She nods and perches lightly on the arm of his chair; staying as close to him as possible. Before she can answer, her son does.

"Yeah, when something potentially life threatening is going down, somehow, our plans never go the way we expect… which can be kind of frustrating… but, after a while, you get used to it."

"Something always seems to go wrong at the worst possible moment, but…"

"Good always wins." Henry finishes the thought for his mother. "Like with the chernabog."

Regina groans. "Ugh. Don't remind me. While alarm, once again, rises in the depths of his grandfather's eyes. "Henry, don't tell me you've come across to one of those unholy abominations!"

"Sorry, afraid so Grandpa. One came to Storybrooke. That's the name of our town. It looks just like this place. Only less…" He wrinkles his nose and lifts one shoulder in an apologetic shrug. "Undead."

"Henry!" Regina scowls.

"Sorry Mom. I know, not the best choice of word, but I can't help it if it fits."

Henry chuckles at the look of exasperation on his daughter's face. "Leave the boy alone, My Girl. He's quite right! This place is undead."

"Daddy…" She starts to object. Then bites her lip lower and relents. "Well, okay, if it doesn't bother you."

"The truth bothers most people Regina." He pats her hand, "Henry, you were saying, about the chernabog."

"Right. One came to town. It was tearing up property, threatening lives. Basically, making a big ugly nuisance of itself. Grandpa - eh, Rumpelstiltskin- He told us that they feed on the potential for it evil. Mom wanted to do something about the chernabog before it destroyed the entire town. She's the mayor. Which isn't exactly like a monarch… But executive power does come with the office. So, she's always worrying about the town. That, plus she thought the thing was after her. Grandma, I mean Snow - Belle gets irritated with me if I call her Grandma."

Regina laughs dryly. "That's because she's even younger than Mary Margaret, Henry."

"I know. But she's not that much younger. Grandma doesn't mind."

"Yes, but Mary Margaret actually is your grandmother. By blood. Belle just has the misfortune of being your grandfather's wife… Or is it, his ex-wife. Are they on or off this week?"

Henry shrug. "I don't keep track anymore. I wish she'd make up her mind about him; once and for all."

"You and the rest of the town, son. You and the rest of the town."

"Anyway… Grandma Snow, she told Mom that we didn't know that for sure that the chernabog was really after her. Mom didn't seem to care though."

"What was I supposed to do? Sit around waiting while that thing was picking people off. Sooner or later it might've gotten to you! That was unacceptable!"

"Yeah, Mom I know. I love you too. But did you have to go play chicken with the thing? Seriously Mom, that was scary!"

"I'm sorry honey but- we were headed toward the town line. That thing was bigger than Emma's car. It was squatting on the roof like some sort of demented evil toad, shaking the entire car all over the road. I thought we were going to crash and burn. I couldn't accept dying in that bright yellow matchbox your mother calls a car. And it really was a bad plan. Very bad! I don't know what we were thinking. Both of us getting in that car together. If we had both been killed…"

"I'd be living with Grandma and Grandpa."

"Exactly! It was stupid of us to risk leaving you without either of us."

Regina swivels her gaze from one to the other. "Daddy, we were supposed to drive to the town line and get the thing to fly over it. Because it's a magical creature. It can't exist in a place without magic. There's no magic outside of our town. I was afraid that demented beast was going to roll that car. So, There I was, thinking to myself, stupid plan! Dumb plan! If I get out of the car, and confuse the ugly beast, maybe one of us will survive. I transported out; right to the town line, crouched low and just before the thing snatched me up, its head went over the town line. Then I had to dive out of the way of Emma's bug. It only took a second or two, so she was still coming head on, at a pretty good rate of speed. She didn't have time to slow down. Lucky she's got good reflexes. Otherwise, she might have hit me."

"Yeah, but Mom did you really have to scream at the thing. Mom told Grandpa David that you yelled at it. 'Hey, are you hungry? Come and get me!"

Regina shrugs and says gently. "I don't know. I don't remember. But, that does sound like something I would say. I didn't plan it, sweetheart. We were down to the wire. It was improv. I was working with what I had. The thing was about to turn Emma's car over. I had to do something. It worked! I am still here! Both of us are. You still have both of us. It's like you said, things don't go the way we plan, but you get used to it. We find our way through. And, we'll find our way through this too. Even if things don't go according to our initial plan."

"Mom, what exactly is the plan. Do I get to know?"

"Yes, I think we'd both like to know the plan, Regina."

She smiles. "Of course, you get to know. You're here too; and anyway, we're going to need your help. We need to find your storybook. The last place I had it… Let's see…" Regina talks herself through the day preceding her arrival here in the underworld. "I took it to Mary Margaret's… From there to my office. I left it in my office. I went to see Zelena. Robin and I had lunch, then they walked out to the barn… Then Ruby showed up to tell us that Zelena had broken free and taken you from the diner. But, two days ago, when I was in my office down here, or, I think technically, it's Mother's office, I didn't see it. It wasn't on the desk. I'm sure that's where I left it in Storybrooke."

"Well Mom, not everything is exactly the same as it is in Storybrooke. If it were, this barn wouldn't look the way it does down here… In Storybrooke, it's still waiting to be repaired and remodeled. By the way, have you seen the apple tree in the great room? Grandpa and I saw it on our way up here to find a chessboard."

Regina squints. "Henry, I haven't been awake long enough to inspect the entire house. But there's no way I missed an apple tree standing in our living room."

Her father chuckles quietly. "Actually Dear, it seems you have. Although, technically it's not standing in your living room so much as it is carved into your living room. It's a woodcarving of a family tree. It takes up nearly the entire expanse of one of largest section of wall. It is in shadow this morning, though. All the drapes in that room are not open yet. This afternoon, when the sun changes position, you won't be able to walk into the great room without noticing it. It's a glorious eye catcher. It's truly magnificent."

"I'll have to have a look, but like I was saying, we need to find your storybook; wherever it is. The plan is to make Hades want us to leave. Either, I hurt him worse than I think I did two days ago, I scared him, or he's up to something. Maybe forming a plan of his own. If he were able, or if he thought it wise, he would've already been here. He's waiting for something. I'm not sure what exactly, but he is. He is stuck here for the most part. He can open portals, he can stand inside the portal. I don't think he can step through. He is tethered to this place. Just like most of the rest of us. Emma can get six of us home on the ferry. Not the other two… so, we'll have to make him want to send us home. I think he's weak from our little skirmish. The plan is to make him weaker before we confront him. He feeds off the dark magic brought down here by others. If we cut off his access to that power, if we can make him too weak to fight, then, I think he will open the portal again just to be rid of us."

"Okay Mom." Henry's voice holds a mix of worry and doubt "But how exactly do you plan to cut off his access to dark power."

"People are here because they have unfinished business. Things they can't leave behind. Things that won't let them rest. We've all discussed it and, chances are, for a number of them, that unfinished business involves us. That's why we need your storybook, Henry. A written record of who is disgruntled about what. Not all of them are going to work with us. I'm quite certain we're going to encounter some …resistance." She chooses the last word carefully. But, the more people we get to cross over, the weaker he'll become.

She pauses and looks pointedly at her father.

Henry recognizes the stubborn set of her mouth. He's all too familiar with the immovable determination glowing in her eyes.

I know what you said earlier Daddy. I heard you. You don't want me worrying about you. Well, that's just too bad. It's my fault you're here. But It is not going to be my fault you stay here. I can't take you home with me, Daddy, but I will not leave you here and just go back home to my life. I am not leaving this place until I know you have some peace. So, if you don't want me here, then help me. You have to figure out why you're here, Daddy. I don't care what it is, or what you do, what you think you did, or didn't do. I don't care what you say to me. You can tell me anything - absolutely anything – if it will help you move on." Regina angrily brushes away the stray tear that refused to stay pent up. "You want me out of here, Daddy? Fine, I'll go, but you're going first."

Henry shakes his head as he softly touches his daughter's face while battling the unshed tears in his own eyes. "I would not have thought it possible, in life, but if anything; I think you've actually gotten more stubborn! Why must you be so hardheaded?"

She shrugs and whispers." I learned it from my father."

He laughs. "Oh, no you didn't."

"Oh, yes I did! I put you here. It's my fault. You still haven't given up on me." Regina crosses her arms over her chest. "Well, I'm not giving up on you either!"

Because he knows she's not going to give it in, he says. "Okay, if I promise to give it some serious thought; will you promise me something?"

"Maybe? What?" Regina raises a churlish eyebrow, and her son fears he will have to leave the room to keep from laughing. He's never seen her look quite so childish as she does at this moment.

"Find a way to forgive your sister."

Regina glowers, and just that quickly, Henry's impulse to laugh is gone. The stubborn child is less visible and his fiercely dominate and independent mother is re-emerging.

"What?" She demands with an unmistakable note of hostility. "Why? Why should you care about her? She's of no importance to you, Daddy?"

"You're right." He answers calmly; quietly. "She's not… But you are. I'm not asking you to let go for her sake. I'm asking you to let go for your own. Please listen to me, Regina. You've made so much progress. Don't give it up… not for her… not for anybody, baby."

Henry and his grandson watch a moment they've both seen unfold before. They watch her clinch her jaw. They watch her grip her own forearms hard enough to leave fingerprint bruises They watch as that all too familiar vein in her forehead becomes visible and begins to pulse with barely contained anger. But this moment is also new. This moment is also different. This time, she doesn't pace or stomp around the room like some caged animal. This time, she doesn't yell, or even raise her voice. It takes two long minutes, but, at length, she sighs heavily and grouses under her breath as she nudges her father's shoulder with her own; showing him a kind of rough affection. "You don't ask much; do you?"

"Oh, I've asked quite a lot; I know. However, if I didn't know with absolute certainty that you are capable, I wouldn't bother with the request."

"Okay. I'll try." She spits the words out as if they literally cause her pain. But I will not go out of my way to force her to come back with us. If that baby really does belong to Hades. If she'll really wants to stay here with him; I say, let him have her. So, we might need to find a way to get three people home instead of two. If she wants to come with us. Since I believe she was telling the truth when she finally said that her baby doesn't belong to Robin – she was pleading for Hades' life. If she hadn't wanted me to spare him, she wouldn't have told me that. That was her leverage over me. She wouldn't have relinquished it unless she wants him more than she wants to hurt me…" Regina blinks. "Wow. That's a bizarre thought. I didn't think there was anything she wanted more than to ruin my happiness."

Regina waves a hand in the air in front of herself, as if to clear both the air and her mind. "Okay, I can think about that later. Anyway… If she wants to come with us, I suppose we should take her. However, I have a feeling she's going to refuse. Quite frankly, as long as a child doesn't belong to Robin; I'm inclined to leave her down here. I wasn't thrilled about the possibility of raising their child. I'm certainly not thrilled about the possibility of helping Zelena raise a child that belongs to the god of the underworld." She shakes her head, trying to rid herself of the vile thought. "The spawn of Lord Death himself!"

Previously unaware, Young Henry, squints and then makes a sour face. "Aunt Zelena's baby belongs to Hades? Eww! Yuck! I'm sorry. I know this is really immature… but…. Gross!" Henry shakes his head and works his mouth as if he is doing battle with the urge to spit out something that tastes nasty; as if the words themselves leave a vulgar taste in his mouth.

Needing a break from the tension in the room, Regina tries not to, but can't help laughing. "It's okay, sweetheart. I had pretty much the same reaction when I found that two days ago. Ugh! Zelena? Really? Him? Yuck!" Regina shivers. "Honestly, if that man ever put his hands on me, I think I would boil myself."

Her son laughs at her. "I hope you didn't tell her that."

"No, I stopped myself before I got that far."

Henry looks at his grandfather and exchanges smiles with the man before telling Regina "That's kind of funny about you, Mom."

Regina squints. "What's kind of funny about me?"

"People tend to hang out with other people who are like them … usually. You definitely do not have a thing for evil men. You never have. At least, not that I know of."

Her father shakes his head. "I think that's probably something every father has nightmares about; his little girl falling in love with some … ne'er do well." Henry curls his lip in disdain. "However, oddly enough, I never had more than one or two of those horrid dreams. That was one thing your mother always had right. Even at her darkest. She always could spot a charlatan at forty, paces. And she stayed clear."

Regina shrugs. "I know what I like. Even at my darkest, I wouldn't have wanted somebody like me. I wouldn't trust me. Why would I want somebody like that? "

"Oh, I won't disagree with that, but I think it's a bit more complex. I think it has to do with the theory of the mirror of the souls. This theory postulates that we seek in others what we wish we saw in ourselves; that we seek in others what we do not know we already have within ourselves."

Regina laughs and rolls her eyes. "Henry, you might want to go get yourself a cup of cocoa. Your grandfather's about to wax philosophical. We could be here for hours."

"Stop that! It's not nice to roll your eyes at your father!'" Henry tells his daughter with mock severity as he gently swats at her arm.

The boy in the room smiles and then must bite down harshly on his lower lip to keep from laughing.

"Besides…" Henry winks at his grandson. It is not going to take hours. I don't need hours to convince him. He already knows I'm right. However, I think I might need another lifetime to convince you!"

Regina opens her mouth to speak, but before she can say a single word, something heavy downstairs is heard crashing to the floor, there's a general indistinguishable commotion the moment before she hears Mary Margaret's voice exclaim in obvious distress, "Cora!"

David yells. "No!"

Something crashes and Emma's voice roars! "Regina! A little help down here… Now!"

Already at the door, Regina turns back; pointing to the two of them. "Stay here. Stay with your grandfather!"

Before either of them can respond, she disappears in a cloud of royal purple smoke with Robin's name on her lips.

An instant later. They both hear her demand, "Mother! That does not belong to you! Put it back! Put it back, now!"

Cora laughs with dark abandon. "Or what?"

"Put it back, Mother! Put it back or, I will make you put it back!"

Cora laughs wildly. "You? Regina you can't make me do a damn thing. You never could. You're too weak. Such a disappointment."

Regina's son bolts from the room and flies down the spiral staircase taking two at a time with his grandfather three steps behind him. "Boy! No!"

He's through the great room, through the kitchen archway and standing in the middle of the room before his mind registers what his eyes see. His sudden unexpected presence causes a momentary stall in which nobody, including Cora; moves, or even breathes. That is, nobody except his grandfather who seizes the split-second opportunity to step in front his grandson and roughly push him back toward the door he came through.

Out of the immediate line of fire, Regina's father keeps his own body, like a shield, between his grandson and danger.

They all watch in abject horror as Cora stands before a gasping Mary Margaret. Her triumphant smile, insidious as she stares, at first, with great, almost lustful, desire, and then, with great confusion, at the glowing red object in her hand. First, she glares at the woman responsible for her death. "Where is the other half? What is this? How have you done this? This is not possible! Answer me! How have you done this?"

Powerless to do anything but respond because half of her heart is in the woman's hand, Mary Margaret gasps, "I didn't do it. Regina did it. She did it for me."

Cora whirls on Regina, still holding half of what she wants in her hand. "I want her whole heart! How have you done this? This is not possible?" Cora violently shakes the half a heart she holds. I want the whole thing! Where is the other half? How did you do this? Well! Don't just stand there; you stupid girl! Answer me!"

Everyone stares. Afraid to move. Afraid to breathe.

"Cora…"

"Oh, hello Henry! I thought you might be here; coddling our daughter, as usual."

"Cora, please…"

She laughs mercilessly and mimics snidely. "Cora please…" before ordering, "Oh, shut up! You were pathetic in life; a sniveling excuse of a man. I'm sorry to say, death has not improved you!"

"ENOUGH!" Regina roars as she unleashes a blast of purest white magic that first claims Mary Margaret's heart, lifting it right out of her mother's hand and magically moving it into her own. Only once the heart is safely in her hand, does she release another blast of something much darker that literally lifts Cora off her feet, carrying her nearly six feet across the room, pinning her roughly to a wall.

Robin and all the others watch with bizarre mixtures of emotion that are equal parts fascination, awe, and unadulterated fear as Regina stomps across the room in one direction and then the other. First, she approaches David, takes hold of his right hand, turns it palm up and gently places his wife's half of their shared heart in it. "Hold on to that! I'll be back for it. Don't lose it!"

David shakes his head mutely, but emphatically.

Next, she crosses the room, moving displaced dining chairs from her path and magically picking up the overturned heavy oak dining table and setting it right again before offering a hand to help Emma up from her place on the floor.

Rubbing a sore shoulder, Emma hesitantly takes the offered hand as she says. "I tried to stop her. She threw me across the damn room!"

Regina nods. "Look after Daddy and Henry. Snow will be fine."

She approaches Cora, and they all continue to stare, transfixed, because all the while – from one end of the room to the other – she's been changing; visibly altering from one personality to the other. Going through a rapid cycle shift between Regina and the Evil Queen. As if her body and her mind are painfully at war with one another.

One second, they see Regina; in the elegant, but simple, white dress that she wore in the picture on the missing page from the other book. It's the dress she wore the night she and Robin didn't meet. Then, two seconds later, the Evil Queen is before them in all her dark glory, wearing an extravagant gown of black and silver satin, complete with corset and an extremely elaborate up do. Rapid cycle shifts continue until she is completely across the room, inches from her mother who is still magically pinned to the wall. By the time she stops moving, she has shifted between light and dark a half dozen more times.

She settles on darkness for the moment, and everyone gasps, stunned beyond all expectation when she reaches out, without the use of magic, and violently slaps her mother across the face. She growls ominously. "You will never speak to Daddy that way again!"

She stalks her way back across the room, turning her back and leaving a dumbfounded Cora still restrained.

Robin's heart breaks as he watches the light fight and claw its way back to the surface once more. Silently, his eyes plead with her. "Hang on Love. Just hang on!"

Regina stops once again in front of David. Without comment, she simply holds out her hand.

David shakes his head. "it's okay Regina. Emma can do it."

Regina simply waits with outstretched hand.

"David, Honey, trust her. Just give it to her." Mary Margaret verbally prods her husband.

He shoots his wife a look that clearly says, "You have got to be joking!"

Mary Margaret sighs. "Okay fine! Don't trust her. Trust me! Give it to her!"

Still hesitant, David waits.

Regina waits. She waits until she can't wait anymore because the lightning in her veins tells her another shift is rapidly approaching. She snatches the heart and crosses the room once more; shifting several more times as she goes.

When the Evil Queen stops, standing directly in front of her old nemesis, heart in hand, Snow White does not blink.

"Are you ready, Snow?"

She nods almost imperceptibly.

One hand on her right shoulder and the Evil Queen violently thrusts Snow's half of the shared heart home; back to the place where it belongs. Then, she steps away, as if the whole process is revolting to her. She can't stand to be so near the woman, to touch her, to see the hope and the light radiating from her eyes.

No longer battling with herself, the Evil Queen crosses the room once more and with a wave of her hand, she releases her mother's magical restraints.

Cora slides to the floor.

"Get up!"

As everyone in the room watches, Cora smiles victoriously.

"Leave!"

Cora nods, rises, and places a hand on her daughter's arm. "Come with me, sweetheart."

Her daughter jerks away. "Do not touch me! I am not going anywhere with filth such as you! Leave! I will not say it again."

"I have a boat waiting to take you home - you, your thief, and your son. Let the rest of them st..."

The Evil Queen laughs darkly. "I don't give a damn what you have!"

"Fine! If you won't listen to reason…"

Cora waves her hand and dark smoke begins to envelop her former husband.

"No!" the Evil Queen shouts; screaming in pure unrelenting agony as a blast of light magic erupts from one hand, tethering her father to the place where he stands so that, despite her mother's efforts, he cannot be taken.

Dark magic roils in the palm of her other hand.

Robin, her father, and her son all cry out respectively. "Regina, Mom, no!"

Before the sound of their words can reach her ears, it's already too late.

She's used light magic to protect her father, and dark in the same instant to retaliate against her mother.

As Cora's body is blown backward through one of the kitchen's plate glass windows, the queen drops to her knees screaming for release from the hell inside her that is pulling her apart at the seams.

She wails horribly for long minutes until someone finally moves.

She jerks back up to her feet as Robin approaches slowly.

"Regina?" He says softly; barely above a whisper. He reaches out for her and she jerks away as much from his touch as from the sad, contemptible look in his eyes. He's not scared. He feels sorry for her.

One quick look about the room, one quick turn of her head, tells her that some of the others are scared, but even the ones who are, still manage to feel pity.

She hates it. She doesn't want to see it, but above all else, she doesn't want to see the heartbreak in the eyes of the men who love her.

She steps toward the window haltingly. As she looks through - gazing, numb and empty, at her mother's body - blue flames suddenly erupt from beneath it, swallow her mother, and then disappear from sight; just as quickly as they appeared.

Confused, her father looks out the window and asks, "Where did she go? Did you do that?"

The hurt, the pain in his eyes, is too much to bear. She shakes her head. No, she didn't make Cora's body disappear, but she says nothing. She glances furtively at Robin, and then at her son, and she can bear it no longer. Their pain is too much. She disappears in a rotating cloud of royal smoke.

For a two count beat Robin stares that spot she disappeared from. He doesn't breathe, he doesn't flinch, he doesn't move.

Until he does.

And once he does, he quickly reaches for, and shoulders, his knapsack and his weaponry. Without so much as a word of farewell, he runs from the room.

The first to find her voice, Emma calls out, "Uh, Robin? Where ya going?"

There is no answer. Only the sound of the front door slamming shut behind him.

Emma looks around the room, talking to the others. "Where is he going?"

Her mother answers confidently. "To get Regina back."

Emma stares at her aghast. "What? Alone? By himself?"

Her mother nods.

"Mom, the evil queen will kill him!"

Her mother waves the comment aside and laughs. She actually laughs. "Naa… she won't kill him. She didn't kill me. And, she likes him a whole lot better than she likes me."

 **Chapter 28: Finding Regina**

Hades rubs his hands together and smiles with supreme satisfaction at the sight before him. Excellent. This is simply excellent. "Nicely done, Regina." He whispers sedately for the benefit of a woman who is not there to hear him. The woman who is at his side looks on with cool curiosity.

"Hades?"

"Yes, my love. "

Zelena tilts her head to one side, studying the unconscious form of her mother, sprawled on the lavishly made double bed before them. "Do you think it hurt? She wonders aloud.

Hades slowly flexes the fingers of his injured hand and silently compares his own wound to the ones that are visible on the body of his favorite redhead's mother.

"I guarantee it did."

A giggle of dark delight escapes the wicked witch. "Can we take her to the abyss now?" She asks; sounding like a kid eager for a school field trip.

Hades shakes his head. "I think not. Not just yet."

"But, why not?" She crosses her arms over her chest. "You promised that if she did as you wanted, she could leave the underworld."

When his witch rolls her bottom lip out in that adorable little pout of hers, he kisses her luscious mouth lightly. "Patience, my darling. Let's be sure it took before we send her on her way."

"Okay, but if it did, you'll keep your promise, right? We will send her far, far away?"

"Of course. we will. I promised you'd have your wickedly ever after; didn't I? "

Thanks to her impatience, Zelena's dazzling smile is slow to form, but when it does, she wraps her arms around his neck and rises to her toes. "I'm about to get everything I ever wanted." Her eyes go wide with the thought and she offers him a slow, wet, kiss drenched in carnal lust.

Hades lets the passion rise slowly, not pushing for more until the thought occurs to him that perhaps they should find another room. One with another bed in it; a bed that is presently empty and wants to be filled.

"Ahem…" Comes the sound of an unwelcome visitor clearing his throat in the doorway. Politely announcing his damnable presence.

Without taking his lips from hers, Hades turns them both, and then glances sideways toward the open door to this chamber of his glorious inner domain. When he sees the wrong person standing in the open archway with his hands politely clasped behind his back, he breaks the kiss and bellows loudly, "Pain! Panic! Get your sorry asses in here on the double!" Leading Zelena to wince and pull as far away as possible.

"Hades!" she whines in objection. Covering the ear he just offended.

Before Hades can apologize to his beloved, two small, stoop shouldered, obviously malnourished figures appear outside the archway behind Robin. Dressed in the heavy hooded, brown woolen cloaks of Gregorian monks, these two wretched souls slide passed Robin to stand, trembling, in the presence of their lord and master.

"Yes, Your Eminence. The taller one asks shakily.

Which one of you bumbling fools wants to tell me who let him in."

The shorter one with the bloated belly begins to tremble twice as hard as previously. "T'was I, my lord. He said he had a quick question for you."

"How many times must I tell you two…" Hades lifts his hand and his minions turn, futilely attempting to scurry away, only to be caught in the backs by two separate flaming blue fireballs thrown in rapid succession. "Not to interrupt me when I have company of the female persuasion."

The imbeciles vanish from sight as Robin turns to leave. "My apologies for the interruption. Carry on." He says in cold farewell.

"Wait…"

Robin stops and turns slightly. When Hades says nothing immediately, he raises an eyebrow as if to prod the insidious god along.

"I thought you had a question."

"I did." Robin nods his head toward Cora's cataleptic body. "And now I have my answer." He steps away without another word.

"You're just going to let him go?" Zelena pouts. You're just going to let him walk out of here without even a bloody scratch?"

"Cheer up, my love. The plan was to turn Regina, not to leave her desolate and heartbroken. If we do that while she's still here, she'll be more likely to wage war against us; instead of for us, but if we send her and the outlaw home with her precious boy. Minus all the extended family, then she will no longer have to share said precious boy with anyone. I think that should please her greatly."

"But I don't want her pleased. I don't want her happy."

"She won't be for long, darling. Once they are home, with her back to her old ways, it won't take long for the thief to see the prudence in ending the relationship and cutting his losses. When he tries to leave her, Regina will save us the trouble of killing him ourselves."

Zelena giggles maniacally before returning her lips to his.

In the forest, several feet from her vault, the Evil Queen materializes from her customary regal purple smoke carrying a metal first aid kit, and one of those disposable packages that holds a small collection of sterilized medical instruments. Realizing she's not alone, she quickly steps behind a tree. Tilting her head so that she can peer around the tree, she watches the man with the lion tattoo silently. For a moment, she simply enjoys the sight of him. He's magnificent. She sighs quietly. Why should Regina get to have all the fun? Her eyes linger over the breath of his shoulders, traveling down the expanse of his strong back, his slim tapered hips, the firm, round, swell of his backside… Damn, he's… overdressed. She barely catches herself before she groans aloud in both fulfilment and frustration.

She will definitely be indulging, she promises herself. But regrettably, there are other things that must be attended to first. She watches him approach the vault door with caution, carefully holding up a hand with his fingers outstretched and then stopping himself less than ¼ inch from the door. Suspicious, he backs off several feet before readying his bow, taking aim, and firing an arrow straight at the door; which does, indeed, set off a small magical charge.

"But, of course." He mutters to himself. Still unaware he's being watched from behind, he shoulders his bow again before he pivots his head side to side as if mentally preparing for a confrontation and calls out. "Regina! Open the door. Let me in."

He waits a long beat before trying again, "Come on now. I'm not going to stand out here all day, mi'lady."

He waits, pacing idly in a tight circle for a full sixty seconds, and then shouts one last time. "Regina! I am coming through that door, love. If you don't want me barbecued to a bloody crisp, then I suggest you open it!"

He charges but before he makes it three steps, he finds himself enveloped in some sort of magical energy stream. He looks around wildly as he's lifted slightly off the ground and then forced to turn and face the opposite direction.

Stepping out from behind the tree, she approaches, exposing herself as his captor. Stopping mere inches from his body, she must lift her chin to look up at him. "Honey, don't!" She orders darkly. "You'll hurt yourself." She continues with an eerie calm quality to her softened voice. "I can't have you doing that."

"You're out here." Robin squints and stammers at a loss.

"I'm out here," She answers flatly.

With his feet suspended six inches off the ground, he hovers, wondering if this is what a marionette feels like when forced to perform by the one who pulls the strings. Still, more concerned about her than himself, he looks her over. Even dressed head to toe in black and silver satin, even in all her dark regal glory, even though her hair is slightly mussed, and her sleek form fitting gown has a bad tear in the skirt: she's still mesmerizing. It takes him a second or two longer to realize that a swatch of silver satin near the tear in her skirt is stained the wrong color. "Regina, you're hurt. You're bleeding! Let me down. Let me help you."

She gestures toward the vault door with her free hand; the one that isn't busy holding him captive. "Only if you promise to behave; and not do things that might get you blown to bits!" She hisses.

"You have my word."

She searches his eyes for a quiet moment and then softly returns his feet to the ground.

The instant he's set free he steps to her side. "Can you walk alright?"

By way of reply, she holds her head high and with as dignified a posture as she can manage, she silently limps toward the vault door, waving a hand to reverse the effects of her magical security system.

Robin follows, breathing quietly "I'll take that as a yes."

Once they are both inside the mausoleum, Regina magically seals the doors shut once more.

"Why lock up so tightly if you weren't here?"

Heading down the stairs to the lower level as quickly as her injury will allow, she explains through pinched lips. "Because I didn't want to come back and find Hades squatting inside, like the vulgar little toad he is."

"You've been here already?"

"I have." She affirms with barely concealed hostility. "Why are you here?" She turns to face him; her dark eyes hot with pent up anger; just waiting to be released.

Setting his knapsack and gear down in a convenient corner, he stares back, suddenly feeling his own temper rise. "You know why I'm here, Regina. Don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you."

"It doesn't suit you either!" She returns fire sharply. Her voice deepening with anger even as it raises in volume. "When I left out of there, you knew I wanted to be alone. Yet, here you are!"

"Yes well, just because you want to be alone doesn't mean you should be." He shouts back unable to ignore the fact that her physical strength is waning even as their tempers rise. Roughly he takes hold of her forearms and guides her to the end of the bed. "Do us both a favor and sit down before you fall down; won't you?" He forces her down with hands that are somehow harsh yet, tender all with the same time.

His anger and his atypical behavior fuel her own dark mood. "Don't yell at me!" She hisses coldly as she slams the items she's holding down on the mattress beside her.

I will yell at you if I bloody well want to, woman!" He kneels before her and angrily removes her shoes; tossing them aside in frustration. "What the hell were you thinking; leaving like that? And, when you're hurt too!" He gathers the hem of her skirt, pushing it up over her knees to her lower thighs where he's forced to stop when he finds her hands are suddenly in his way.

"That's what you're mad about?" She laughs harshly. "The fact that I left?"

"Yes! That's what I'm mad about! Damn it, Regina! You can't just up and bloody leave every time things get a little dark!"

"You saw what I did!" She yells venomously. You saw what I did to her?" She looses a fireball of magnificent size and heat and hurls it over his shoulder, clear across the room, where it collides with the stone wall and extinguishes itself harmlessly. A rather impressive scorch mark, the only evidence that it ever existed.

Having felt nothing more than a flash of intense warmth, Robin does pause long enough to glance over his shoulder, but otherwise, he doesn't miss a beat.

"What? Smacking her around a bit? About bloody time! Look at what she's done to you!" He points aggressively toward her reflection in the mirror across the room. "No woman who can willfully do this to her own child has any right to call herself a mother! So, you bounced her around a little, tossed her rotten bum out a window; so, what? After years of abuse, degradation, humiliation, and torture; she barges into our home unwelcome. She throws Emma around like a rag doll, snatches Mary Margaret's heart, nearly crushes it, terrorizes your son, not to mention the rest of us, and tries to do God knows what with your father. She knows what you're going through at the moment. What did she think you were going to do? Stand there and laugh it off? She's the one who put this darkness in you. You said it yourself! Evil isn't born; it's made! She made you! She bloody well knew what you were going to do! Wake up! She's playing you… Again! It's not like you can kill her Regina! She's already dead!"

Momentarily, but profoundly, stunned as much by his obviously unshakable belief that she won't hurt him, as by the truth in his words. She removes her hands from her thighs; placing them flat on the mattress on either side of her body and lifts herself slightly, helping him along as he pushes her skirt up and out of his way. She watches him carefully remove the bandage already in place. She watches him wince at the sight of the gash high up on her outer right thigh.

"This cut is deep Regina. How did it happen? Blowback from the shattered window?"

"It had to be. Nothing else it could've been. I didn't even feel it when it happened."

"Can't you heal it?" He queries. All but the faintest traces of the heat in his voice instantly evaporating at the sight of the wound.

She shakes her head regrettably. "Magical practitioners can't heal themselves. It's not allowed. We'd all be immortal; or at least damn close to it."

He stands up and moves for the door. "Stay here but let me out. I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" She raises an eyebrow.

He turns, squinting as if it should be obvious "To get Emma. She can heal you. Open the door. He repeats.

She shakes her head. "No one else is coming in here, Robin. If I had wanted Swan to do it, I would've asked her myself. I don't want to see them. Not now. Not any of them."

He stares down at her; glowering anew with his hands on his hips. "Then I'll have to take you to the hospital: the hospital here in the underworld."

She shakes her head again and declares darkly. "I am not going back there. You were right about that place. It looks more like a bomb shelter than a hospital. The guy in charge looks remarkably like Weil. His brother, I think. I refuse to let that resurrected monstrosity give me a scar fit for his bride."

"Regina, don't be absurd! You need stitches, and a proper wound cleaning."

"I am not behaving absurdly. If you had seen that place, you would know it. A horribly ugly scar will be the least of my worries if we go there. Blood poisoning, gangrene, staph infections, and the possibility of amputation all come to mind. You have more than one scar, and it's quite obvious you stitched some of them yourself." She looks at him in a way that reminds him that she has seen him naked. Seen him; and thoroughly enjoyed the view. "You do it."

He stares at her aghast. "I can't."

"Yes, you can." The queen stares up at him, calmly, coldly, without so much as blinking. She points to the first aid kit and the suturing kit beside it.

He opens both and stares down at the supplies she has provided. "Where did you get these?"

"The hospital. Though, why dead people need stitches, I don't know."

"Is Weil's brother trying to resurrect someone?"

She smiles darkly. "Now there's a gruesome thought."

"Wait, you refused to get stitches there, but they gave you this stuff, anyway?

She shrugs. Watching him watch her. "I never said they gave it to me."

"Then how did you get it?"

She raises an eyebrow and shrugs nonchalantly. "You're a bad influence on me."

Robin squints for a split second before his mouth curves into a wide grin. "You stole these?"

"It was depressingly simple. People really don't pay attention… at all." The dark queen examines her perfectly manicured fingernails as if she's bored.

She glances up in surprise when Robin throws back his head and laughs freely. She raises an eyebrow, but before she can say a single word, his lips claim hers.

 **Chapter 29: If You Insist**

With a soft snort, the kind that comes with a quick, unexpected inhalation, Robin wakes suddenly; surprised to find the cavernous room around him in nearly complete darkness. He rolls onto his back, tossing off blankets only to reclaim the thin top sheet and pull it back over his naked body when the cool, damp night air of the underworld touches his flesh. Aware of her warmth beside him, he turns again and very carefully drapes an arm around her waist; mindful of her injured thigh and the new stitches there. While he waits for his eyes to adjust to the dark he allows himself to indulge in recent memories.

The moment his lips had touched the queen's had been a shocking one for her. She hadn't expected it, and for a long three count beat, she sat frozen; stunned into immobility. It wasn't the first time his kiss had that effect on her. Somehow, he doubts it will be the last. She will never admit it, but the queen does not believe herself worthy. He hopes, maybe someday, she will. But today his love for her astonishes her; catches her completely by surprise. So, she sat frozen for the first three seconds.

He chuckles softly in the dark.

That was it, though. Once she recovered, she wasted no more time, rapidly turning the tables on him. In less than the three seconds it had taken her to respond, she stood up, spun him around, stripped him of his jacket, shoved him onto the bed, and straddled him. The kiss she offered in return was wet, ravenous, and demanding. Her hands were insatiable. She pulled him into an upright position long enough to strip him from the waist up and then she roughly shoved him back down again; her mouth only leaving his when it was absolutely necessary, that half a second that it took for her to yank his white undershirt over his head and toss it halfway across the room.

Robin's heart had thundered in his chest as her soft touch trailed fire over his hands, arms shoulders, neck, chest and back. She touched everything, like some wild, half-starved ethereal creature who hadn't known a man for decades. His pulse quickened, his blood raced, his body responded in the most natural of ways, and his pants became a horrible nuisance he resented more egregiously than a night owl with a 5-alarm hangover resents the first bright rays of dawn. When she shifted slightly, intending to roll onto her back, he was only too willing to oblige. They rolled around together for a few blissful minutes, working each other into a nearly unbearable frenzy. Searching for her hemline again, he found himself hating her dress every bit as much as he hated his pants.

Damn clothes!

He pulled at fabric, tugging and bunching with her writhing beneath him, doing anything and everything she possibly could to help him out without letting go of him. When his left hand found the supple warmth of the back of her right thigh, he thought he'd weep for joy. She moaned, and the sound nearly undid him. Their mouths still fused together, tongues dancing, teasing, delighting and demanding, his hand found the sweet swell of her ass. When his fingers slipped beneath the waistband of delicate lace, and his hand cupped her, urging her pelvis into a more gratifying position, she broke the kiss and cried out breathlessly. He stared into her dark eyes, heated and wild with passion, knowing that his own eyes reflected it back to her while her hands found, and made quick work of, releasing his belt. Regina pulled it free of his pants, growling in frustration, and in one swift move, tossed it in the general direction of his other clothing.

The woman has a habit for throwing things when she's hot and bothered, or for that matter, hot and not bothered. Robin kisses her bare shoulder softly; just a feather-light caress in the dark and happily returns to his memories.

She worked down his zipper, her touch nearly pushing him over the brink as his hand roughly tugged at her delicate panties…

That was when she screamed, and he instantly knew it wasn't a good thing.

Her thigh.

"Fuck!" Robin had groaned through clenched teeth as all fun came to a regrettably abrupt halt.

The queen's eyes had gone wide in response. She'd never before heard that particular expletive come from his typically cleaner mouth and while she ground her teeth together in response to the pain, dark laughter rose in her throat. "Well, I was trying to, but that hurt!"

He rolled away from her laughing, despite his wretched and thoroughly wanton condition. "That's not what I meant, mi'lady. I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean to." He breathed raggedly. "I bloody well forgot!"

The queen had shrugged with indifference. "It was my fault. My leg hurts like hell. But I didn't care. I still don't." She had reached for him again; tender fingers coming to rest provocatively low on his abdomen.

"Uh-uh, Your Majesty." He had gently but firmly pushed her hand away before she could distract him all over again. "First, we fix this little problem. Then we play."

She had whispered in his ear; a dark sensual storm still brewing in her eyes. "I'm not playing."

"Maybe not, love… and I don't mind if you want to get a little rough with me but listening to the woman I love scream in pain is not turn on, Regina. Not for me. You'll just have to wait. We both will. After I do something about that cut, you can do whatever you want with me. But, until then..."

The queen smiled seductively. "Whatever I want?"

He pushed himself up from the bed, turned and looked at her lying there; rumpled, disheveled and utterly breathtaking. He nodded. "Tie me down, handcuff me to the bed, if you like. I don't care what you do, but we're going to see to that wound first."

He watched her think it over and he waited; waited for some indication that she understood that was the way it had to be. He was surprised, shocked even, when after a serious moment's consideration, she had wrinkled her nose in distaste and shook her head. Returning to her perch on the foot of the bed and straightening her dress once more to a less revealing position, she informed him rather dryly. "Handcuffs are no fun. How are you supposed to touch me if you can't use your hands?"

Kneeling to retrieve the first aid, and suture kits from the floor - they'd been pushed off the bed during their passion fueled tussle - Robin chuckled. "And, my not touching you would be a bad thing?" He put the kits back on the bed, extracted a few alcohol swabs from the first aid kit and stepped into her small but serviceable bathroom to wash his hands. At first, he was delighted to find that here, unlike home, there was water in the pipes. Unfortunately, it was brown, slightly rust colored, water. He shut off the tap, determined to clean up as best as possible so, he bathed his hands with the alcohol swabs as she stepped into the doorway and stood watching him. "You not touching me would be terrible. I've tried life both ways." Something hard and cold seeps into her voice when she says, "I didn't care for the hands-free version."

Robin winked at her. "Well, that's done now. Go sit back down. I'll be there soon."

By the time he had returned, carrying her small supply of hand towels and wash cloths, she had returned to her place on the foot of the bed after she had obviously collected a few bottles of water from the supply she had stored down here, as well as in Storybrooke, along with a small ceramic bowl to pour them into. Additionally, she had located a bottle of bourbon and poured a healthy three fingers into a glass and was sipping it leisurely.

As he approached, eyeing the glass curiously, she held it out to him, offering him a taste.

Smiling, he shook his head. "Not before surgery. Besides, you should drink it. You're going to need it. The only thing for pain in either of these kits is a topical ointment and a small package of ibuprofen… Are you sure you won't let me go get Emma?"

Regina had laughed callously and shook her head with utter certainty. "With both of us looking like we've been making out in the back row at the drive-in? No thank you. Emma Swan is the last person I want to see just now."

"Okay, if that's the way you want it, but you're being stubborn. And, there's no need for you to punish yourself."

She raised a dark eyebrow. "You think that's what I'm doing?"

He had nodded as he kneeled and pushed her skirt out of his way once more.

"Then you still have entirely too much faith in me. I spent years punishing other people for my own unhappiness. Not myself; other people."

"Not recently." He had said, as he began to bathe and tend to the wound on her thigh as gently as possible. "I think that carefully constructed barrier you put up between the child your father remembers, and the merciless monarch your mother wanted is finally starting to crumble."

When she had grabbed his wrist, and tried to push him away, he held fast. Setting the task at hand aside just briefly, he had looked into her angry eyes and said quietly, "No! Don't push me away just because you don't want to talk about it. Get furious if you want but listen to me, Regina."

He waited until, despite the storm clouds brewing in her sullen eyes, she chose to let go of his wrist on her own. Returning the bulk of his attention to her wound, he said, "There is a wall. It's a wall you carefully built; and for good reason too. You did it to protect the child your father remembers, the girl who saved Snow from that runaway horse, the young princess who fell deeply and irrevocably in love with a stable boy, from a seriously damaged mother who only wanted to damage her."

He had paused to wipe away blood and dirt from the wound; quiet for a moment because he expected the sharp intake of breath through clinched teeth when he placed a towel beneath her leg and then poured a small amount hydrogen peroxide directly over the wound. "I know. It's cold. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize!" She snapped angrily, and then inhaled, and adjusted her tone. "Just get it over with!" She said less harshly.

"You've got this habit of talking about yourself like you are two separate people wrapped up in the same body – Regina, and the queen. I know why you started doing it. I understand. Trouble is, we've all started doing it too; which I suppose reinforces that particular thought in your own mind."

He paused again as he held up a foil packet with an alcohol swab in it and ripped it open. "Hold on a minute. This is going to hurt. But I've got to do it. I don't want you getting an infection that we won't be able to treat down here."

He waited while she silently downed the remaining content of her glass. Then, he did what had to be done as quickly as possible while she breathed raggedly, quietly hissed, and balled her fists in the bed linens. Only when it was done did she allow herself to say, through clenched teeth, "I swear, that stuff has got to be the key component in battery acid!"

He got up long enough to poor her another two fingers of bourbon and handed the glass over once more.

She downed that one as well and she made a point of not watching, deliberately looking over his shoulder into the middle distance while he threaded his needle.

"I know it's going to be hard not to but try not to move while I do this."

She nodded silently as he began to talk again; deliberately given her something else to focus on.

"I've always had my doubts about the two separate personalities theory. Events of the last few days have only reinforced those doubts." He held the wound firmly closed and worked quickly because past experiences have taught him that when it comes to stitching a wound without medication; slow and gentle does not help. It only prolongs the agony.

She flinched each time the needle went in but pulling the thread taunt caused the greater pain. She said nothing. She did try hard not to move **,** and except for the occasional jolt, she kept her leg still. He felt her muscles twitching beneath her skin, alive with pain, but she didn't move much. She would not look at him. For most of the process, her eyes were closed, and even when they weren't, she stared over his shoulder, but he knew she was listening; clinging to his words – even the ones she didn't like – as if they were a lifeline.

"Regina, you're not two separate people at all. You just desperately needed the distinction between the two parts of your singular personality to survive your mother. When you decided to lay down old grievances for your son's sake, that wall became a little less necessary. With each step you've taken, since then, that wall has become less desired. I think that's why the shadow casting ability has suddenly emerged. I think there's a crack in the wall… And I don't think it's anything to be afraid of. Maybe you were always meant to do this. Maybe your mother and that wall just stalled you for a while. You father says there was always light; light your mother wanted to snuff out… So, instead of developing both simultaneously, you delved into darkness. Now that you are finally letting the light through, it hurts. It feels unnatural. It's painful and scary. The other day, with Hades, the opportunity presented itself because you were protecting me. Something you're motivated by love to do, but you were angry as well; angry for the pain your sister has caused me, and angry for the pain she's caused you too. It isn't any wonder that the one person who could make you angry enough to cast your first shadow was Cora. You were caught between two parents. The one who fed the darkness and the one who nurtured the light. Any child, regardless of their age, feels pulled apart by two warring parents. Yours just happen to have a magical child, an incredibly powerful magical child; which makes things all the more interesting."

Finished with the stitching, he thickly dabbed topical ointment onto the wound and gently covered it with a thick gauze bandage and applied surgical tape to hold the bandage in place.

"All done." He said, drawing her gaze back to him. "And I didn't have to dodge one fireball." He teased before placing a light kiss over the top of the bandage. He poured her a third glass and watched her down the dose of ibuprofen he'd handed her along with it.

When she reached for the bottle for the fourth time, he raised an eyebrow. "You aren't going to get sloppy on me are you, mi'lady?

Tired, in pain, angry because she was afraid that what he had to say might be true, and even more scared that it might not be true, she glanced first at him, and then thoughtfully at the glass in her hand.

Setting it aside, she raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. "Robin…"

In response, he raised an eyebrow of his own; matching her expression.

"if I kiss you… Will you please shut the hell up?"

Knowing she had enough for the moment, he smiled, took her face in his hands and kissed her all over again; effectively reigniting their earlier passions.

This time, before falling into bed and having her way with him multiple times, his queen shed her own clothes, leaving them in a heap on the floor at the foot of the bed before she pushed him back down again then knelt to remove his boots and socks. She rose to her feet once more and finally did away with his pants.

She straddled him again and spend the next several hours using his body to please herself, only stopping when she could literally go on no longer.

With both of them finally sated, thoroughly exhausted, and a bit sore in tender places; she'd slept.

She sleeps on, until he kisses her bare shoulder and then she stirs, rolls into his arms and smiles up at him in the dark.

"Is it your turn now? She asks sleepily.

"My turn?"

"Umm hmm." She hums as her lips find his ear, so she can whisper, "You let me have all the fun I wanted. Now, it's your turn." She stretches, holding herself against him in all the right places.

Chuckling quietly, he bows his head, tucking it into the curve of her neck; his tongue seeking the pulse point below her ear before he pauses to murmur, "Well, if you insist."

 **Chapter 30: Back to the Black?**

Feeling lonely, wishing he could talk to his mother, Henry sits at the bar in his grandparents' underworld loft, not drinking his cocoa. "I don't know, Grandpa." He says to Regina's father. This shadow casting thing sounds pretty awful to me."

Henry pats the boy's hand and shakes his head. "I know it doesn't feel very good right now; what with your mother missing. But, like any other ability, it's neither good nor bad. It's what you choose to do with it, how you choose to use it, that matters most."

His grandson sighs heavily. "Mom will do the right thing… I just wish I knew she was okay. At least we found my storybook. We can get started. Robin will find her. I know he will. We should go to Granny's and see if we can persuade a few people to let us help."

Emma steps forward and wraps an arm casually around her son's shoulders. "You sure you feel up to that, kid?"

Henry nods somberly. "It's better than sitting around here waiting and worrying. Robin will find us if he needs us. We left a note at the barn. We can leave one here too."

"The lad's right." Hook chimes in. "Give him something to do. There's nothing quite like sitting around waiting on a wayward parent to materialize."

"The not knowing will drive you out of your head if you let it." David concurs.

The decision made, they all swing into action gathering, jackets, sunglasses, and the like. Minutes later, ready to set out, Mary Margaret opens the front door to find Robin standing on the other side a breath away from knocking. She smiles and laughs nervously. "Boy, are we glad to see you!"

Hook and Ruby are the last to approach the door as several people ask questions all at once. Did you find her? Where's mom? Is she okay? How is she? Is she in trouble?"

Robin holds up his hands and pats the air gently, silently asking for patience as Mary Margaret opens the door wider, granting him entry. "Regina's fine. She's someplace safe. She just really needs some time alone. She's got some things to sort out. I can't stay. I don't want to leave her alone for too long. I just knew you all would be concerned. She's alright." He pats Henry's shoulder and shakes his grandfather's hand.

"Grandpa told us about the shadow casting. You guys should've told us. Yesterday wouldn't have been quite so scary if we'd known what was happening."

Robin looks the boy in the eye and offers sincerely, "I'm sorry about that Henry. If it makes a difference, we weren't actively trying to keep it from you. Your mom is still trying to process. She's not sure how she feels about it yet. I don't think she's ready to handle how everybody else feels about it… Whatever they feel."

Mary Margaret nods. "And, how are you? You look tired."

Robin runs the fingers of one hand through his hair. "I've had a long night." is all he offers.

Ruby squints. "Are those blood drops on the leg of your pants."

Unaware, Robin glances down at the few small smudged stains she's inquiring after. He sighs warily. I'm afraid they are. It's no matter, I'll change the first chance I get."

"You were bleeding at some point recently? Hook raises an eyebrow. "What happened mate? Catch a fireball or two, did you?"

Emma objects sternly, "Killian?" as Robin laughs. "No. If that were the case, I don't think I'd be standing here now. It's not my blood. Its hers."

When alarmed expressions and worried eyes turn his way yet again, he attempts to waive away their concern once more. "I'd told you. She's fine. She caught some glass yesterday when the window exploded. She got cut. It's nothing life threatening. I took care of it. She's fine."

"I want to see her." Her son states clearly.

"I know you do, Mi'boy. Robin answers with compassion. Let's just give her a little while first. She doesn't want to see anyone right now… And she hasn't yet reverted. She'll come to it in her own time.

"You're saying she's still in the evil queen mode." David clarifies.

Mary Margaret shoots her husband a sharp look, and hisses quietly, "David!"

He shrugs. "Sorry, but I, for one, need to know if she's still with us, or if she's going to… present a problem."

"If she were going to… present a problem…" Mary Margaret deliberately uses his own words as she nods discreetly toward their grandson. "I think she would have done it yesterday… You know, when the opportunity was literally within her grasp."

"Stop it!" Henry shouts louder than he meant to. You don't have to talk around it like I'm three years old! I don't care if she's in mayor mode, evil queen mode, or bad-ass ninja witch mode… She's my Mom!"

Chuckling, Robin pulls the boy into a manly hug. "Frankly… I think that's something we all need to have a very quick conversation about. He looks to David and Mary Margaret, waiting for their approval, before he closes the front door and takes a seat at the bar. With curious eyes upon him, he takes a moment to collect his thoughts before he begins.

"Most all of us have different identities. If not different identities from this realm to the next, then different because of individual talents or callings Most all of us wear different hats from time to time depending on our own personal interests and abilities. We don't all walk around making sideways comments when Mary Margaret is in teacher mood, or when she's tramping through the woods with some storm looming overhead, trying to rescue wounded doves. We just accept that it's all part of the person she is. Most people don't feel the need to walk around constantly reminding me of my former profession or consistently remind me that I am the mayor's boyfriend. Yet, for some reason, we all seem to delineate between the different aspects of Regina's complex personality as if there were literally more than one of her. Maybe it's because of all the things she did; maybe it's because of all the darkness. Maybe that scares people and they need a way to label that fear. Maybe it's because she does it herself, and in doing so, unwittingly gives others permission to do the same. I think we all need to stop doing that. Henry just said something very wise. He doesn't care which mood she's in, or which frame of mind. She's his mom, period. One person. I don't think she is going to get control of this shadow casting ability unless she learns to accept all parts of herself equally. I think we all need to do whatever we can to help her with that."

"I hear you, Robin. I think that's just a little harder for some of us. Especially those of us who knew her back then. It is like she is two different people. The difference is night and day." David shrugs.

His wife smacks him gently on the shoulder as Ruby groans and Regina's father speaks up patiently. "The different isn't night and day – but rather - dark and light... and it's in all of us."

"David…" Ruby starts slowly. You once stood up for me, rather passionately, when I needed help. My grandmother wanted to hide the wolf in me. My mother wanted to hide the human in me. Your wife was the first person to ever accept the wolf and the human as parts of the same whole. Snow was the first person to look at me and say it's okay to be both. Why can't you be both? She helped me by doing that. She helped me accept myself… All of myself. If it hadn't been for her, I would probably still be eating people… And, to the best of my knowledge, Regina's never done that!"

Hook nods. "There's not a person in this room who hasn't, at one time or another, crossed the line between light and dark… Except for perhaps you. Your Majesty. I must admit, I don't know you well enough to say with any real certainty."

The king waves the comment aside." My good man, my hands are stained with the blood of every one of my daughter's victims. I might have prevented it all if only I'd had the courage to step into the light when I should have. By the time I did, it was already too late for a multitude of them. I assure you, I am no stranger to the dark, or the light, and I wouldn't want if any of the way. Without my knowledge of both, I surely never would've been her father. And that is something I wouldn't trade for all the kingdoms in all the realms of every universe. Furthermore, Robin is correct. There is only one of her. She long ago tried to mentally tear herself in two; attempting to survive her mother's torment. The problem now is that rift is finally mending, and she needs to find a way to…" He gestures toward Ruby and nods. 'Accept all of herself.' I'm well aware of the delineation Robin speaks of. Many of you see her as either Regina, or the Evil Queen. She proved yesterday, like never before, that she is both simultaneously. If they were not one and the same, it would not be possible for Regina to hurl dark magic at her mother – enough to decimate her - while the queen protected me with the light. If they were not one and the same, there could be no crossover between the two; no sharing of magical powers. I know it's scared most of you yesterday, and it broke my heart to see her in such pain, but it did this old man good, to see the woman you all use to call the Evil Queen using light magic. I've always known it was in her… Now, maybe she will too."

Robin speaks up again. "Right now, I think what she's doing is protecting herself. I think, she knows what she did was necessary, but that doesn't mean she wanted to do it. It's not made any easier for her when it's compounded by the fact that she now suspects Cora was manipulating her, yet again."

Both her father and Mary Margaret instantly question, "How."

It's rare, but every once in a while, she talks about Cora. Knowing what I know, when I set out looking for her yesterday, it didn't take me long to get suspicious; especially not after Cora's body was swallowed up by blue flames coming out of the earth. Looking for answers, I paid Hades a visit…"

Emma and Mary Margaret both gasp. "By yourself? Are you crazy?"

Robin waves them off. "He had other things, besides killing me, on his mind. He and Zelena were…" Robin covers his mouth with a hand. "Let's just say… in each other's company." He watches as looks of disgust appear on the faces of several of his friends.

"The news is made even more revolting by the fact that there was, indeed, a bed in the room. However, it was already occupied, thank heaven, or else I'm sure I would've seen a great deal more that I didn't want to see. The bed was occupied by none other than Cora's unconscious body. I stood in the door listening for several minutes before announcing my presence. Call it a hangover from my past. If you're going to steal from people, it helps to know who you're up against, before going ahead with your plans. They, meaning Hades and Zelena, were discussing what to do with Cora. I didn't ask, but I got the distinct impression she made a deal with Hades… Her ticket out of this seedy underbelly of the afterlife in exchange for her daughter's full and irrevocable return to darkness. It seems, Hades intends to use Regina and her darkness for his own personal gratification. If that is his plan, I can tell you right now, he's going to have to go through me to get to her. I think, when Cora came to the house yesterday, she was after you, sir."

Robin turns his full attention to Regina's father. "She played it off like your attempted abduction was merely a consequence of Regina's lack of cooperation. I do not believe this to be true. I think it was her plan all along… You were to be her… Tipping point. I'm not sure if snatching Mary Margaret's heart was a part of the plan, or if Cora just simply seized the opportunity when it presented itself. Whichever the case. One thing is clear. She didn't expect to be bested. She underestimated Regina's abilities."

"She always has, my boy. She always has."

"I need to get back to her. She needs to sleep. Given what I believe Hades has in store for her, I'd prefer she didn't do that without someone there to stand guard. She's drained from yesterday's encounter. Although the effects of this one don't seem to be as physically severe as the previous one."

Her father nods. "I expect that's because in the previous encounter she didn't actually release dark magic. I think it was the strain of holding it within that hurt her the most; that and the fact that it was the initial onset. She had no expectation… No warning… No preparation.

"Well, she's having a tough time at present, and she's not up the company because of that, but she's still with me."

Mary Margaret laughs. "She's always with you, Robin."

"Oh, I know. She tells me so when she thinks no one else is listening. What I meant was, she's still on our side. I'm just not sure it's a good idea for us to let Hades know that."

Emma grins. "What, you mean lie to the god of the underworld, let him think she's gone back to the black?"

Robin shrugs as he opens the front door and steps through. Over his shoulder, he says, "Who knows, could work in our favor."

Emma nods, still grinning. "I like it. I can do that!" She bobs her chin with certainty.

Much cheered by Robin's visit, Regina's son calls out, "Tell Mom Operation Firebird is about to commence."

 **Chapter 31: I Will Always Know**

The queen dresses meticulously, selecting attire fit for the new plan. If Cora and Hades want to play games; why shouldn't she accommodate them. She selects one of her finest cloaks to add flair and warmth to her ensemble, consisting of black leather accompanied by a form-hugging, cleavage-amplifying regal purple corset. She judiciously chooses, from the limited selection the underworld has to offer, the most appropriate shade of lipstick to fit her present mood; a glistening dark red shade labeled; 'forbidden fruit'. Applying it carefully to her lips, she stands before her mirror, critiquing her own appearance. The smile reflected back to her is venomous until something shifts and suddenly, inexplicably, worry rolls in like a fast-moving storm; instantly tightening around her heart, and clouding her eyes as it brings Robin's name softly to her lips.

She waves a magical hand in front of the mirror. "Where is he?"

Even before the image in the looking glass becomes clear, she hears his voice. She hears him calling out to her from somewhere nearby.

"Regina!"

The next sound she hears doesn't compute; an unbelievably loud, soul-shaking, earth-shattering roar. She knows immediately what it is, but it just doesn't compute. Or maybe she just doesn't want it to.

 _Dragon!_

Turning, already fueled with the desire to run, she hurls the tube of lipstick in the general direction of the vanity and bolts for the door of the mausoleum.

The animal roars again; closer this time and moving fast.

 _Really big, really pissed off, dragon!_

She takes the stairs two at a time; ignoring the painful complaint in her thigh. At the last possible instant, she remembers to disengage her security system and snaps the fingers of one hand a mere nanosecond before the other hand grabs the doorknob. She darts out into the clearing in the forest that surrounds her vault and screams in horror.

The very moment she sees him, Robin gets scooped up in the outstretched claws of the largest fire breathing monstrosity she's ever encountered. The beast flaps its wings and the resulting shift in air pressure nearly buckles her knees. The ugly thing turns his head toward the sky and begins to rise; its altitude increasing rapidly.

Fueled by adrenaline born of love, fear, and intense hatred for the beast that has her man, she charges after it.

"Regina!" Robin screams her name again when, after a ½ dozen steps, purple smoke envelops her, and she vanishes from sight. Before the last syllable of her name is completely out of his mouth, she appears, suddenly at his side, clinging to one of the dragon's massively clawed feet.

Stunned, he stammers. "I didn't know you could do that!"

"Neither did I!" She wraps an arm around his waist. "Hold on tight! Don't let gooooooo!" She screams as the dragon angrily shakes her loose.

She de-materializes, taking Robin along for the ride. They both reappear bouncing and rolling roughly on the ground, one on top of the other, for several feet before they finally come to a stop, each of them groaning over various aches and pains; mere inches from the vault door.

When it's over, Robin finds himself beneath Regina with an angry dragon overhead doing its damnedest to roast them alive. From the length of several football fields away, and airborne, the hideous creature snorts loudly and spews fire from its nostrils and mouth. Fire that would've found its target if Regina hadn't rolled them out of the way just in the nick of time. When they come to a stop again, they have traded places. From her place beneath him, she puts a protective arm over the back of his head and covers the side of his face as, with her other hand, she returns fire, sending a barrage of fireballs in rapid-fire succession toward the loathsome animal.

Roaring with fury, the dragon gives up, turns tail and flies away.

When it's safe for him to do so, Robin turns his head and stares after the beast. "He's going to quit? That quickly? Something tells me that was way too easy."

Still beneath him, the queen growls menacingly.

Rising to his feet, he pulls her up along with him.

As they head for the safety of the vault, she hisses with acid in her words. "Okay, this place is really starting to piss me off, Robin!"

He smiles as she grabs his hand roughly and forces him to follow along while she stomps toward the door.

"Starting too? Forgive me, my love but I think you've been pissed off for days now."

She growls again.

Robin tries not to, but he can't help himself, he chuckles softly because she sounds like a spoiled royal when she announces, "An ugly, giant three-headed dog with breath that smells like a rotting corpse! My mother! And now a bloody fire breathing dragon too! What's next? Beelzebub himself? I am not having any fun, Robin! Not any fun at all!"

"Aww, come on now, Love. Last night was fun!"

The queen growls for the third time. She stomps into the mausoleum pulling him along with her and slamming the door shut. Before she can magically seal the place shut, she realizes they are not alone.

Hades and two, of what can only be his minions, are in residence. Before speaking, Regina hurls a massive fireball at the shorter of the two minions and sends the poor wretched creature, screaming in agony, up in flames. She gestures with the same hand that loosed the fireball. "See! What did I tell you! Beelzebub!"

As she steps in front of Robin, protectively, Hades, darkly resplendent with blue flaming hair, smiles narcissistically. "Why thank you, Regina. That's quite a compliment." He says with infuriating calm.

"It wasn't meant to be, you loathsome little leech."

Hades blinks and repositions himself behind the only minion who remains a split second before she hurls another fireball of even greater proportion. The lowly indentured servant's tortured cries reverberate harshly off the mausoleum's stone walls as he catches flame and vanishes into oblivion.

Hades clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth, making the sound of a disapproving parent. "Now Regina! That's not very nice of you. I come to talk. I come to offer you a way home; and how do you repay my kindness? You temporarily incinerate Pain and Panic. Though, I must admit, you did a splendid job of it. Well done, dear! It might take them a full month or two to re-materialize after that roasting.

The queen snarls and roars. "This is MY vault! Your presence is not welcome here! Leave now… Or else…" She lifts both hands, ready to end him. Traces of light magic glow in the palm of one while dark slithers in the other…

He vanishes from sight before she can fire, his voice trailing after him like some sort of disembodied phantom. "Come see me when you get your temper under control, Your Majesty."

She growls, nodding her head and pointing aggressively, at the empty spot where the dark god no longer stands. "That!" she paces angrily with ground-eating strides. "That was a setup! He couldn't get in here because the place was sealed!"

Robin nods. "So, he set the dragon on me, but only after I got close enough for you to hear me call out. You ran out the door…"

"And, of course, I didn't stop to seal it behind me."

"Well, that explains why the dragon gave up so easily. It wasn't supposed to hurt me, just distract you long enough for Hades to get in here."

She laughs hideously. "Oh, ho ho ho! Don't think for one second that thing wouldn't have hurt you. It may have been serving Hades, but it's still a dragon! Dragons do what is in their nature to do."

Mystified, by a sudden thought, she stops pacing and turns to stare at Robin. Astonished, she whispers, "There are dragons in the underworld!"

He nods and runs his fingers through his hair. "Well, at least one of them."

"Robin! What kind of unfinished business does a dragon have? What? Is he mad because someone he ate gave him indigestion? Did the big bad dragon get a tummy ache! What the hell did he come here for? To find the person who made him feel bad, so he could eat them all over again?"

Robin tries not to laugh, but again, he can't help it.

"Don't laugh!" She orders with hostility. "It's not funny! I am going to kill that…. that… that…" She gestures with both hands. One of them is pointed at the door to the vault, the other is pointed at the spot where Hades stood.

"Which one? The bloody dragon? Or, the demented god?"

"Both!" She yells darkly. "I am going to kill them both!"

She resumes pacing until Robin quick steps around her, takes her by the shoulders, and then moves his hands down to hers. He turns them palm up and softly delivers a kiss in each.

"You're not supposed to do that anymore." He reminds her quietly. "Unless of course, it's justified."

"It is!" She shouts stubbornly, hurls a fireball against the wall some 30 foot away from him, and stomps her foot like a violent, angry child in mid tantrum. "That ugly, giant, flame-throwing bastard tried to steal you away from me, and Hades told him to do it! I am going to kill them!"

He pulls her into his arms and breathes into her hair. "I'm fine. I'm safe. If the dragon is already dead, then I'm pretty sure you can't kill him, sweetheart; and I don't want you going head to head with Hades unless there is absolutely no other choice… Actually, I don't even want it then."

She pushes against his shoulder, silently asking to be released from his embrace.

He obliges and studies her face; realizing that her thoughts have turned inward.

"Dragons have a human form." She muses, talking to herself. "I don't know very many of them. Just Mal, her daughter Lily… And, I guess we know of Lily's father. I don't have a clue who he is though. Even Mal doesn't know that. Robin?" Her eyes meet his again as she includes him in her cogitations. "You don't suppose that dragon is…"

"Lily's father? That's an awfully big leap, Regina."

"Is it? Can you think of a dragon that would have more unfinished business than Lily's father?"

"Not personally. But then, I'd never personally met one before today. However, I'm assuming they aren't the only three dragons in existence, and you're assuming that he even knows about Lily."

She nods slowly, reluctantly, forced to agree with his logic." She sighs with resignation. "I don't like this place. I want to go home, Robin."

"You calm enough to go talk to Hades? See what he wants?"

She growls again.

"I'll take that as a no."

"I don't want to talk to him!" She scowls repugnantly. "I want to…."

He nods and holds a gentle hand over her mouth. "Shh…I know, I know. Let's table that for a minute. I have a better idea."

He waits for her to curiously raise an eyebrow before slowly removing his hand.

She waits three seconds. "Well, are you going to tell me or not?"

He holds up a finger, silently asking for patience. "First of all…" He folds his hands behind his back and paces in front of her. "I'm not so sure killing him is a good idea. Assuming of course, that it can be done."

He waves an impatient hand when she tries to interrupt. "The underworld exists for reason. People with unfinished business who can't move on obviously need somewhere to go. He's the guy in charge. There's no denying he's not likely to be the best candidate… But who would want the job. So, if we kill him, what new problems is that going to cause? But, let's set that aside for now. We can revisit that in a little while when we're back with the group."

He pauses, making significant eye contact, and she encourages, "Go on. I'm listening."

"For now, I don't think it's a good idea if either of us goes anywhere alone. In fact, I think we should stick together… permanently."

The queen tilts her head to one side and squints up at him, aware of the depth of his words, if not their full meaning. "What… exactly are you suggesting?"

Robin stops pacing, turns, looks her in the eye, and after a weighted pause, he says simply; "Marry me."

Caught off-guard, shocked so deeply that she literally must take a step back to keep from falling over, she scowls at him suspiciously. "You bumped your head when that dragon dropped us; didn't you?"

Robin throws back his head and laughs boldly. "I may have. But I assure you, I am well within my right mind, mi'lady."

Unconvinced, she steps forward again, rises to her toes, and places curious hands on the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair, feeling around for a big fat goose egg.

Patiently, he waits until she is done and then flashes his smile. "Satisfied?"

"No! I am not satisfied! You just proposed… in the underworld!"

He nods. "I did." He waits an extra-long beat before prodding gently. "An answer would be nice."

She scowls. "You nearly get carried off by a dragon, and less than five minutes later, you feel like proposing."

He shrugs. "I survived… this time. And, there's not a lot I'm certain of. One of the few things I am absolutely certain of… Is that I do not want to go leave this life without ever having been your husband."

The queen does battle with the urge to smile brilliantly. "This can't wait until we get home?"

"Well, it can. If you really want it to… But, I thought you might actually want to do it here."

Her mouth falls open. "You're right! You haven't bumped your head. You crazy. You're insane. You're certifiably nuts!" She points her finger at him. "My sister couldn't get you to… rock her world… She couldn't get you to …move the earth… for her, so she put that memory in your head, and while she was poking around in there; she pickled your brain!"

Smiling despite mild exasperation; Robin softly orders, "Stop that! I haven't gone mad. I just had this notion that if you could have any one person attend our wedding, regardless of the extremely less than desirable location, it would be your father. We can't take him home with us. We can't bring him to the wedding. So, I thought maybe … you might like to bring the wedding to him."

As he talks, he watches the scowl on her face soften and disappear completely to be replaced by a dazzling smile; one that she covers with trembling hands. When the first teardrop slips free of her lashes, she hurls herself into his arms and kisses him all over his face before nestling in and resting against his shoulder.

He holds her in his arms and kisses her tenderly. First, on her forehead, and then, softly, his lips find hers - each of them, not the least bit surprised by, and not bothering to separate, in the delicate but far-reaching magical shock wave that emanates from true love's kiss.

As they kiss, Robin also feels a separate shutter roll softly through her body. Without stopping to look, he knows what is happening and he holds on tightly.

When they do part, he takes a ½ step back and gazes into Regina's eyes. "Well hello. Welcome back."

She glances down at her regal attire, and frowns slightly in confusion. "I didn't change back into what I was wearing yesterday. How do you know I shifted?"

"I will always know." He whispers.

Regina accepts this with a sweet smile. "I love you."

He nods. "And I you."

She hugs him again and whispers against his shoulder. "But, we cannot get married here."

"Oh, why can't we?"

"Roland isn't here. If his daddy gets married, and he isn't there to see it, it will break his little heart. Robin, it means more than I'll ever be able to put into words that you thought of me and Daddy this way. Thank you!" She shakes her head adamantly. "But I can't do that to Roland. I won't. I won't be that selfish. Yes, I will marry you … Just not here."

"Well, if you're done hiding out, can we please go tell your dad… and the rest of our friends?"

"Okay." She softly places her hand in his.

 **Chapter 32: The Only Irrational Act**

The group is taking a short break from their newly self-appointed duties when a warm gentle energy pulse, rapidly approaches and then moves beyond their set-up in the park across from the library with its fallen clock tower, leaving pleasant sensations both on their skin, and in their minds.

Henry Mills, Sr. looks around at the smiles on the faces of the people nearest him.

Leaning over her son's shoulder, glancing at the pages of his storybook, Emma's straightens to her full height, smiles, and looks around curiously. She offers her parents are raised eyebrow. "Did you two do that?"

David and Mary Margaret shrug in unison and shake their heads. They answer respectively. "It wasn't us." "Not this time."

"Well…" Emma glances at Hook and offers a shrug of her own. "it wasn't us either. He's five feet away from me."

Ruby shakes her head. "Somehow, I don't get the feeling there are a lot of people down here who are in love with each other."

Regina's father shakes his head. "There are people down here who…" He glances at his grandson surreptitiously. "Share in the joys of the flesh. Anything to pass the time. However, two do not necessarily have to be in love to do that."

David laughs wryly. "No, empty casual encounters wouldn't produce anything powerful enough to release the magical vibe we all just felt. I haven't felt anything that strong since I woke Snow up from the sleeping curse Regina put her under, or actually, since she woke me up from mine."

The older man squints. "You were under a sleeping curse?"

David nods. "Briefly, and also courtesy of your daughter. However, it was with my full consent. Snow, Emma, and Princess Aurora needed our help. We couldn't get to them, but we could communicate with them via the curse. Regina was… kind enough to help us out. They were able to get home because of it, and Snow woke me up."

"True love's kiss?"

"Only the most powerful magic there is." His grandson answers with enthusiasm.

The king smiles and raises a teasing eyebrow. "And exactly what would you know about it, young man?"

Henry laughs, "There's more than one kind of true love Grandpa. The first one everybody always thinks about is romantic love, but both my moms have woken me up… On different occasions." He points to Emma. "She broke Mom's curse when she kissed me. A year later, Mom…eh, Regina… Broke their curse…" He points to his other grandparents. "When she kissed me. I guess I'm pretty lucky. I've already felt that twice, and I don't even have a girlfriend yet."

When his grandfather's eyes go wide, Young Henry shrugs and says, "It was no big deal."

"I beg to differ, my boy. Casting curses in a very big deal. So is waking people up from them. And don't worry about the girlfriend issue. I'm confident it will happen sooner than you think." He winks and then turns his attention to Mary Margaret and David. "You cast a curse?"

The couple nods and Mary Margaret says, "The same one your daughter did, Sir. However, it was absolutely necessary. We had to get Emma back to Storybrooke. It was life or death."

"But that curse…"

Knowing where he's going, Mary Margaret nods. "Is the reason Cora couldn't find my whole heart." She tucks herself under David's arm, and lays a hand gently on his chest. "The other half is right here. We share one now. We didn't have a choice. We had to get Emma back to Storybrooke. First, we asked Regina to cast that curse again. She refused." Mary Margaret nods toward their shared grandson. "For obvious reasons. So, I used David's heart, and then, immediately thereafter, Regina split mine and gave half of it to him."

The couple pauses to share a light kiss.

"The other day, when Cora was angry and ranting about how possessing only half a heart is not possible… Well, I wasn't about to tell her where the other half was just to prove that it is possible. I have no idea what she was so upset about. Why she was so convinced that it isn't possible. David was dead. I asked Regina if she could do it; if she could split my heart. She said she didn't know. I begged her to try. She told me it might not work. She told me it might kill me too. Duly warned, I told her to do it anyway. To me, she didn't seem to have any trouble doing it. In fact, she made it look easy."

Henry smiles and shakes his head. "That's my girl! And, for what it's worth, I'm betting that Cora thinks it's not possible simply because she cannot do it. I don't understand all the laws of magic, but I do understand some of them; enough to know that there's probably some sort of provision for just this sort of thing. If I must wager a guess, I will say that splitting the heart is probably only possible if the one committing the act is doing it purely for altruistic reasons. Cora wouldn't commit any such act of selflessness."

"Once again proving your belief that Regina is stronger than her mother."

"Yes, but confronting her mother as she did yesterday morning… I am worried about her."

Mary Margaret smiles with understanding. "Don't be, sir. There's no need for you to be. I promise you, Robin will take good care of her. He's probably the only one of us who has never been afraid of her. They share a bond that defies logic. But, then again, love is the only irrational act people commit. People can give you a multitude of reasons and rationalizations for every other act committed; whether good or bad. But, ask them to explain why they love… There is no definitive answer. Any answer given can also be true of another person they don't love. I would lay down money… That it was the two of them who just sent out that little ray of sunshine into this dismal place."

Emma chuckles drolly. "I'll also bet Hades is not going to be happy about it. He likes this place dank and hopeless. If people start getting happy enough to share true love's kiss, it's going to mess with his 'All ye who enter here abandon hope' mojo."

Hook laughs as he drapes an arm around her waist. Maybe, if we all lock lips with the right person, His Unholy Eminence will get put out, and put us out - on the first boat home."

Emma elbows him in the ribs. "I am not making out with you just so you can test a theory that is likely to get us killed."

A few feet away, the second hand on the fallen clock tower audibly moves - just once, and far below street level, in his private lair, Hades fumes and retaliates by throwing blue flames at the face of the wench who polishes his most prized possessions. The untimely knock at the door angers him further.

Infuriated, he bellows, "What!"

The door opens. Robin and Regina enter. Dressed to appear at her darkest, Regina offers a snide smile to her sister, her mother, and the dark god.

"Oh look, Robin!" She says in a saccharine voice. "It's the Unholy Trinity – the mother, the daughter, and the demonic spirit. Now, how did I know we would find the three of them all together?"

 **Chapter 33: Child's Play**

"Cora dear…" Hades sneers from his throne. "In life, you really should've done something about your daughter's mouth."

Cora sighs deeply before offering drolly. "I tried. Believe me, I tried. Regina's tongue has always been too sharp for her own good."

"I see you're recovering, Mother." Regina says coldly; knowing that Cora will resent the reminder of exactly how she was injured.

Cora shrugs as if her injuries are of no consequence; as if every move, every breath, doesn't feel like sandpaper against raw nerves, but in the flicker of time before her shoulder lifts, Regina catches sight of the spark of anger and humiliation her mother isn't quite able to hide in the depths of her eyes. "It was a price worth paying to see you this way, Regina. Welcome back."

"Ahem." Robin clears his throat. "Who says she ever left?"

"Oh. She left."

Regina rolls her eyes. "I'm bored." She conjures a fireball of magnificent portion and holds it, bouncing, from the palm of her right hand. "Hades, you want to tell us why you went to such elaborate lengths to summon us – or shall I start… entertaining myself?" She smiles darkly.

"Now Regina, let's not act hastily. Let's behave like civilized individuals… for the moment. First, I see you've figured out how to tap into the underworld collective. Congratulations, not many are strong enough to do that. Secondly, it is as I said it was. I am prepared to offer you a way home. You, you're well-mannered outlaw, and your boy. You're all free to leave this place within the next 90 minutes. Leave the do-gooders behind. You get Henry all to yourself."

Tilting her head to one side, Regina squints. "With my new abilities, the greater task is restraining myself from blowing your demented ass into oblivion. After managing that, tapping into your collective is child's play. And, what? You're just going to let us walk out of here? Don't insult my intelligence Hades. What's it going to cost me?"

"Hades shrugs grandly. "I'm feeling generous."

When he says nothing more, Regina shakes her head. Everything comes at a price with you Hades. You're worse than Gold."

"How is Rumple?" Cora inquires. "I notice he's not here. Still as spineless as ever? I think Pan may have actually been disappointed when he didn't arrive with the rest of you."

"Cut the crap, Mother! Pan is no more displeased by his son's absence, than you are pleased by my presence. I knew it the first moment I saw you. You don't want me here. What I don't know is why. Whatever the reason, I'm betting it has something to do with why Hades is feeling so generous."

Cora shrugs in a way that would only convince those who don't know her. "What mother would want to see her child here in this place?" And, knowing that the relationship has never been warm and fuzzy, Regina ignores her completely.

"Actually, my reasons for wanting you gone have absolutely nothing to do with your mother. I can assure you of that." Hades lifts Zelena's hand to his lips and kisses it lightly. "You see, in truth, it's my wife who wants you gone from this place. Zelena's pregnancy is causing her enough discomfort without having to see you every time she turns around."

Regina eyes her sister coolly. "Well maybe you've should've thought of that before you decided to drag us all down here, Hades. Better yet, maybe you should have thought about that before you decided to implant your seed in a mere mortal." She sneers in disgust and pauses to point at the redhead aggressively. "You better hope this mere mortal, wicked though she may be, is strong enough to carry a demigod. Well, actually, I'm quite certain the appropriate term is demigoddess. I've heard it can be a rather difficult… undertaking. Her body wasn't designed to be a vessel for nurturing and sustaining that kind of power."

"Oh, shut up!" Zelena snaps. I suppose you think you could do a better job? Well, I think you're just jealous. I've got my god." She gestures with the hand Hades isn't holding. All you've got is this forest-dwelling plaything!"

Regina laughs insidiously, and her eyes go wide as something slides into place mentally." First, Greenie don't flatter yourself. You can have your feeble little god. For all I care, the two of you can reign supreme in this putrid place. Secondly, Robin's skills and abilities were learned, nurtured, and honed into excellence. He can survive on next to nothing. That's not something to be ashamed of. It's something I'm rather impressed by. It's certainly something I was never taught to do. I will take him any day over a toothless god who lives in self-serving opulence, while sucking nearly everyone around him dry. If it weren't for the power he commandeers, he'd be insignificant and ineffectual. Strip him of that, put him in a tent in the woods, and see how long he lasts. If he makes it through the first two nights, then you can come and talk to me about your god. Third…" Regina pauses to point. "Did he just call you his wife?"

Zelena giggles maniacally. "Sis, you really should be nicer to your brother-in-law. I wouldn't upset him if I were you." She lowers her voice to a conspiratorial stage whisper. "He has a bit of a temper; you know?"

Regina laughs boldly; freely. "I am not afraid of him… And he knows it. He can hide behind your skirts and claim it's you who wants me gone all day long. That may be true. In fact, I'm quite certain you do want me gone, but I'm equally certain he has his own reasons. How about it Hades? Care to tell the truth? Why are you really appearing to be so generous? What do you get out of my leaving?"

"Are you kidding? You. Above ground, back in black? The question is what don't I get. I miss the days when you used to send me whole villages of wretched souls full of unrest."

"So, it all comes down to power." Regina shakes her head in disgust. "You three were made for each other. You deserve each other." Turning, and taking Robin's hand in the one of hers that isn't holding a fireball, she extinguishes the fireball and heads for the door.

"Regina dear? This wasn't just an opening salvo. Do we have a deal, or not? Hades presses the tips of his fingers together and brings his index fingers to his lips as if deep in thought.

With one hand still in Robin's, she turns. "I have a counter-offer."

Hades raises an eyebrow. "I'm listening.

"We're all going home… Today. Me, Robin, and all the people who came after us, and you will release my father from this wretched, rotting, festering hell hole, because if you make me do it, I will find a way to secure his freedom from this place without your help. If that happens, I promise you… Things are going to get ugly!"

First, Your Majesty…" Hades rises to his feet, his head erupting violently in blue flames. "It is unwise to threaten me…"

Regina shrugs. "Hey, you three set this game in motion. I'm just playing cards I was dealt. You wanted me dark…" She smiles venomously and bows sarcastically. "Well, you got what you wanted. Now, deal with it!" She turns to walk away once more.

Stalling her, Hades admits. "I cannot release your father from this place. Only he has the power to do that, but if I did have such power, why not ask for your mother's release as well. You don't honestly think she wants to be here."

Knowing full well that she's being played, yet again, Regina's gaze slides back around to her mother and she looks at the woman for a long moment. At length, she sighs and says. "I'm going to show her the same amount of compassion she has always shown me. I'm going to choose to care about what she wants, and what she needs, every bit as much as she has always cared about what I want and need for myself. Goodbye Mother."

She turns on her heel for the last time. When her hand finds the doorknob, she says over her shoulder. "And thank you Hades. With regard to my father, I suspected that much was true, but I did not know for sure. Not until you told me. You can cancel the boat. I won't be needing it today. I'll be here for as long as it takes."

His anger boils over. How dare she come in here, insult him so egregiously, make demands of him inside his own inner sanctum, and then turn her back and walk away as if he has no power over her. How dare she! In pure dark rage, he hurls a massive blue fireball, aiming for the center of Robin's back.

Expecting the retaliation, Regina shoves the one she loves to the ground as she holds out her hand and roars furiously "MINE!

A volcanic explosion of white magic erupts from her palm and envelops the fireball mere inches from where Robin landed. Startled, she stares at the phenomenon before her open mouthed for an eternity that lasts only a second. The two different streams of magic battle for dominance; one over the other as the tension and the power grows. It builds toward an earth-shattering climax. The walls of the cavern begin to shake violently. Knowing she must do something to protect herself and Robin from the coming explosion, she waves two fingers, releasing the fireball and sends it hurtling into the front seat of one of Hades' many fine possessions. A classic, handsomely restored, 1957 Chevy.

Hades screams "No, not my car!" He steps toward the automotive marvel until he finds himself crouching against the heat of the flames.

Regina shrugs, as the car is engulfed in flames. She glances pointedly at Zelena's middle. Her words as black as coal, she hisses, "You will not try that again. You will leave Robin alone. He will leave this place unharmed, or the next time I might take aim at something a little less inanimate."

With the walls groaning and rumbling around him, and the floor trembling violently beneath him, Robin comes to his feet, uses a hand to fan smoke away from his face and then puts an arm around Regina. "Come on! Let's get the bloody hell out of here before the place caves in."

Charging out the door, they run down the wide underground corridor for the old freight elevator. As they step in, Regina thinks better of making the long laborious climb back to the surface with a fire raging down below. She stops Robin from pushing a button on the control panel with a gentle hand, wraps her arms around his waist and relocates them courtesy of magic. Back on the upper floor, she waits for the horrendous earthquake like tremor she expects to feel, but it never comes.

As they step outside with their arms around each other, Robin raises an eyebrow. "I feel a bit silly saying this again for the second time in less than an hour, but I didn't know you could do that!"

Regina shrugs and repeats the same answer back to him. "Neither did I." She kisses him firmly on the mouth and when they part, she admits. "I wasn't trying to claim the thing. When I shouted 'mine!' I was referring to you. As in, don't do that! He's mine!"

Robin's stares at her in amazement. "Instead, you actually claimed power over one of his fireballs?"

She shrugs again. "That wasn't what I intended. If he can hold power in his collective and pull from it as needed, then… I don't know… Maybe when I tap into it, I have the power to tap into him. Robin, I just wanted to stop it. Not take control over it… No matter how briefly."

"Briefly, it looked like you had pretty good control to me."

She shakes her head. "No. The two streams converged. They were mixing, and I was rapidly losing control. It was going to explode. There was nothing I could do about that. I had to let go of it. I didn't mean to set the car on fire. I was just trying to get the damn thing as far away from you as possible."

"Well, it may not have been your intention, but it certainly worked in our favor. If you can tap into him maybe the tide just turned."

"Maybe, but I hope I never have to do that again."

"Oh? Why?"

"Because it hurt, that's why." Wincing in pain, she holds up her palm; putting it on display for him.

"Robin stares, aghast at the ugly, charred, third degree, magical burn that covers the inside of her hand.

"He may be a toothless god usurping the powers of others, but he is still a god. His powers, even if they are stolen from the inhabitants of the underworld, were not meant to be harnessed by a mortal. If he'd had access to what once was his own natural power… that little stunt probably would have killed me."

Robin cringes and tightens his embrace. "Please tell me you're going to let Emma help this time. Regina, that looks bad."

"It is bad." She hisses, trying to hold her hand as still as possible. "Come on. I see the group across the street; over in the park."

Robin kisses the top of her head as he quick steps toward Emma, who is already making her way toward them with a worried expression visible on her face.

Quietly, before him is close enough for Emma to hear, Robin chuckles and whispers, "She thinks I'm your plaything?"

Regina smiles despite the pain in her eyes. "Do you mind?" She inquires softly.

"Do I mind what? Being thought of as your plaything? Not a bit." He whispers back.

 **Chapter 34: After Action Report**

"What happened?" Emma asks at once; joining them and then returning to the group alongside them. "I saw you going in a few minutes ago. Not long after that, we felt the ground shaking. Like an earthquake, only – well I don't know – are there earthquakes in the underworld?"

Before Regina can even take the time to answer, she must hug her anxious son, who is thrilled to see her again. When the others notice her attire with raised eyebrows, Young Henry waves their concern away. It's okay guys. It's just Mom! I can tell."

To move them along pass the moment of uncertainty, Robin answers Emma's question dryly. "It wasn't an earthquake. It was an explosion. But never mind that for now. Regina's hurt."

"You're hurt?" Emma looks to her for confirmation before she notices the pain radiating out from Regina's eyes.

"It's her hand." Robin says as Regina turns her hand palm up and he moves her cloak aside, tucking out of the way, behind one shoulder.

Emma gasps; noticing her charred flesh for the first time as the others gather around.

Regina, sweetheart." Her father murmurs in shock and despair at the sight of the injury at the same moment that Mary Margaret inhales deeply; as though she's been punched unexpectedly in the abdomen, and Henry cries out in anguish. "Mom!"

Regina tries to smile but can't quite manage it. "I'm okay, Daddy. Henry, I'm okay."

"No, you're not!" Emma argues vehemently. "But you will be." Without another word, Emma places one hand beneath Regina's and the other over it; very close, but without touching. Within seconds, a warm golden white light comes to life between Emma's two palms as her magic heels and restores Regina's scorched flesh.

They all wait. After an interminable 10 seconds, Regina begins to move her fingers. Flexing them; testing their agility.

"Hold still." Emma snaps in agitation born of concern. "I'm not done yet."

Another 10 seconds go by.

Worried and hurting for his daughter, Henry asks, "What's taking so long."

Regina lays her other hand gently on her father's knee when he sits down beside her on the bench. "Be patient Daddy." She says with traces of pain still etching her words. "This might take a little while yet, but it already feels better than it did."

Emma nods silently as she bites her lower lip. Giving her full concentration to healing the wound. Only when she is done, and Regina holds up a perfectly unblemished hand does Emma say, "I'm not a doctor, but I'd say what took so long is the fact that I think your daughter very nearly lost that hand. Emma takes hold of Regina's hand, turning it over in her own. "Give it a few minutes to keep working. If it still aches in twenty, let me know when I'll hit it again. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

Regina grimaces. "I've got minor aches and pains all over. I'm sure Robin does to. But there's nothing anywhere as bad as my hand. Between what just happened down there, and our run in with the dragon, we're both probably black and blue underneath our clothes.

"There was a dragon? And, I missed it, again!"

Regina chuckles quietly. "Although it gives me nightmares to even think about it, don't be so impatient Henry, one day, I'm sure you'll have a big scary dragon all your own to face, just do me a favor, please?"

"Sure Mom; what?"

"Don't fall in love with her. "Regina lectures softly; tiredly.

"Mom!" Henry rolls his eyes.

"There are dragons in the underworld?" Ruby's eyes go wide.

"At least one." Robin repeats his earlier comment from when Regina has posed the same question with much the same wonder.

Apparently, he was Hades' fire breathing errand boy. He was supposed to get me out of the mausoleum long enough for Hades to get in, and it worked too."

"You're telling us you have not only met with Hades today, you've also done battle with a dragon?"

When her father raises an eyebrow, worry still present in his eyes, Regina says, "I had no choice, Daddy. That damn thing tried to carry off your future son-in-law."

Regina glances at her son and runs her fingers through his hair to soothe his worries. "When we get home, you and I are going to spend a long weekend together; just the two of us. While we're busy doing that, Robin can spend the same long weekend with Roland. Afterward, I'd like you to stay with Emma for a few days. I'm taking Robin…" She smiles making it up as she goes along. "on a… vacation."

Looking on quietly, Mary Margaret smiles with tacit understanding as Robin questions, "We're going on a vacation?"

"We are. Just you and me. I think we've already earned it, and I shudder to think what else we'll have to go through before we get to go on said vacation."

"Robin flashes his smile. "Where are we going, mi'lady?"

"I don't know. I haven't decided on any place in particular. We can go anywhere you'd like, just as long as it is someplace with absolutely no magic. Some place without magic beans, ogres, fairies, dragons, talking crickets, green cyclones, witches, wizards or pesky portals to the underworld!" Making sure she won't catch any of her cohorts in the line of fire, Regina hurls a splendid fireball at a tree thirty feet away. "Some place where I don't have to feel this wretched pull."

While most of the others look somewhat startled, Emma nods, and Robin squeezes her shoulders affectionately from his place behind her. "Go on and throw a few more if it'll make you feel better." He offers patiently.

"No, I better not." She drops her voice to a whisper so low they have to lean in to hear her. "I don't want to push it too far. The idea is to make them all think I've returned to the dark side." She gestures toward her clothing by way of explanation. "Not for me to actually do it. We probably shouldn't talk too much about it out here." She glances around, gesturing to their public surroundings.

David steps up. "Let's go back to our place." Then he cringes. "Our place… We really need to get out of here. I'm starting to talk about that place like its home."

Once they all arrive at the loft, Regina does a little magical housekeeping; minus all the broken glass. Then she magically seals the place closed just to be certain no one is eavesdropping before she gives them a full report.

"I've figured out how to tap into his power reserve. Hades sent the dragon after Robin to get me out of the mausoleum just, so he could be waiting there when we returned. I lost my temper and chased him off. Apparently, he wanted to offer a deal. It seems, at some point in the past, Zelena went and married him. She is his wife."

Regina pauses for a moment letting them all soak this up before she continues. Some of her friends just look shocked while others look both shocked and disgusted. "It is definitely his baby. Henry's new cousin is going to be a demigoddess. That is, if mother and child come through the pregnancy safely."

As she lowers herself into a rocking chair, Mary Margaret queries, "Is there cause for concern."

"You better believe there is!" Regina answers drolly.

"She's having some health problems?"

"Hades just said she was having some discomfort and she wanted me gone. Since her plan to separate Robin and I failed, apparently, she finds the sight of me disagreeable. ' Discomfort' was probably his way of putting it mildly. Zelena maybe wicked, but she's mortal. Supporting the pregnancy and birth of a goddess - even just a demigoddess- is not something mortals were designed to do. I've heard horror stories of mortals giving birth to gods. It doesn't go well. It's not impossible, but a lot of them don't survive… Well, not that there have been a lot of them; most of the few who have tried haven't survived. She's in for the pregnancy from Hell."

Hook chuckles. "Literally."

Regina offers him a dry, humorless, smile. "The pun was not intended, but it's certainly fits."

"She wants me gone. If Hades is to be believed, he wants me gone solely for that reason; because she does. He offered me, Robin and Henry a boat home. He thinks Cora pushed me over the edge yesterday, and that I have tumbled headlong down that slippery slope back into darkness. He thinks, if I am topside and back in black, I will increase his power supply. No doubt, if I truly had gone dark again. I would. He reminds me a little of Pan, trying to recharge Neverland's magic with the heart of the truest believer. Only, in his case, I don't think there's any danger of this place shutting down completely. He's just greedy. He wants more souls. More souls equal more power."

Her father holds up a finger; silently asking for a moment. "And where might one find the heart of the truest believer."

"In your grandson's chest, Daddy."

His grandson shrugs when his grandfather's eyes go wide. "That's old news Grandpa. Nobody can steal my heart now. Mom already fixed that. Oh, by the way, Mom, Pan is here."

Regina makes a show of remaining calm but it's hard not to miss the faint note of tension in her voice. "You've seen him?"

Henry shakes his head. "Not me personally. But Stealthy was here. He told me that down here, Pan is in charge of Grandpa's shop. I haven't been in there."

"Smart boy. Just to be on the safe side though, stay with an adult at all times, please."

"Not a problem." The boy shrugs. "It's not like I'm dying to go take a walk in the land of Underbrooke."

"Stealthy, the dwarf?"

"Yeah, Grandma and I gave him some information to try and help him cross over – Operation Firebird."

Regina smiles as Robin says, "I was supposed to tell you about that. Sorry, Henry. Didn't get a chance. Got a little distracted."

"By the dragon?"

"Afraid so."

Regina nods. "So, is that what we're calling it?"

Henry nods eagerly, bringing a smile to both his mother's faces as well as his grandfather's."

"Kid…" Emma queries. "Are you referring to the mythological bird, or the muscle car?"

"Definitely the bird, Mom. Definitely the bird. "

Regina bobs her chin reflexively. "I like it!"

Ruby puts the conversation back on track with, "So, Robin nearly got eaten by a dragon. Hades thinks the Evil Queen is back. And he offered you a deal to get you home."

"Yes. I turned it down."

The set of her father shoulders goes a little stiff. "You did what?" He says more sharply than he intended.

"I had to, Daddy. The deal was only for the three of us." She gestures between herself, her son, and Robin. "He wanted me to leave the rest of you down here. I can't. And even if I could, I still think he's up to something. I just haven't figured out what yet. If we can help these people down here, even just a few of them, we should. Besides, not only am I suspicious, and angry. He tried to steal Robin away from me. He tried to turn him into a dragon's midnight snack! Now, I'm just plain worried…"

"Worried about what, Your Majesty?" Hook inquires.

It seems, that not only is Mother recovering, apparently while she's doing it, she's convalescing down there in Hades' private liar. They don't seem particularly friendly with each other… And come to think of it Zelena didn't seem especially warm toward Mother either. But, she thinks I'm dark again. I think she's moved on to… even darker and greater things... maybe."

David raises an eyebrow and inquires, "How so?" with a note of something haunting in his voice.

"Well, when Zelena was born mother had no use for her, but if she's about to give birth to the child of a god, a dark god, the darkest one there is – if Cora is about to be a grandmother to a demigoddess." Regina shrugs as if the rest should be obvious.

Her father groans aloud. "Even in death she's a power-hungry, manipulative, harpy."

"And, Zelena is about to become her new obsession, but you're not going to have to worry about that, Daddy. She can hurt you. However, I'm certain she doesn't have the power to send you anywhere you don't belong. I asked Hades to release you from this place. He can't. He doesn't have that power. If he doesn't, then she doesn't either." Regina smiles. "We'll keep you safe. We'll get you to where you belong."

Smiling, he shakes his head. "I told you not to worry about me."

"And I told you, that's not gonna happen." She fires back lightheartedly, but no less serious."

"We're going to stay. We're going to help those who will let us help them. I'm going to snoop around and see if I can figure out what they are really up to. I'm going to get you out of this place."

Her father raises a stern eyebrow. "And then you'll go home and… Have the honeymoon before the wedding? Because unless I'm slipping, that is what the word 'vacation' was code for."

Everyone else in the room wears mildly shocked expressions – everyone else except for Mary Margaret.

"Daddy!" Regina objects. "No one said anything about a wedding, or a honeymoon."

He chuckles at the expression on his daughter's face. "No, maybe not. But a little while ago, you did refer to him as my future son-in-law. You don't really think I missed that little slip of the tongue, do you?"

 **Chapter 35: Snow White Wedding Planner Extraordinaire**

"So, you guys are getting married?" Mary Margaret flashes the brightest of smiles as she passes out bottles of water. 'Sorry, it's not champagne, but it's the best I can do given our present location."

Accepting his own bottle, Robin steps up behind the bar stool she's perched on and drapes an arm around Regina's shoulders as she offers quietly. "He says he wants to." Regina laughs drolly. "Honestly, I can't think why. Ever since he met me, there've been lost boys, flying monkeys, bizarre time travel, stolen hearts, attempted abductions, my wicked sister, my lack of control over my own magical powers, the underworld, dragons, and my mother. Add to all that the fact that apparently, my new brother-in-law is Lord Death, himself…" She smiles up at Robin. "Why anyone would want to marry into all this is beyond me."

Their friends turn their gazes to Robin; several of them with raised eyebrows.

Aware that they are all waiting expectantly, he shrugs and says in his own lighthearted way. "It's never been boring."

Among the quiet chuckles in the room, Regina's father says, "And with my daughter by your side, it never will be. She doesn't do boring. I don't even think she knows how to."

Robin squeezes Regina's shoulder affectionately. "Seriously though, maybe it's because I survived all that; thanks to you. Or maybe, just maybe, it's because all of that has nothing to do with you and me." He places a light kiss on her upturned mouth. "I came to Storybrooke hoping for a place to start over. There I found so much more than just a new place to be; a fresh start. I found a queen, one who understands reformation on an intimate level, one who has a soft spot for my energetic little boy who is as good at getting out of trouble as he is at getting into it. What more could I ask for?"

Regina gestures toward him as she talks. "Either he's a masochist or he should apply for sainthood. I mean, five days ago, I was sitting in a bar in New York City trying to figure out how we were ever going to get past the damage I believed my sister had done. Who wants to marry somebody after her own sister goes and does something like that? Once the truth was out, I would have been less shocked if he had thrown his hands up and told us to stay the hell away from him; both of us.

Robin chuckles. "If I had, Roland would've put himself up for adoption." He tells the group, "He adores Regina." Then he turns the lion's share of his attention back to his fiancée. "When we were in New York, he asked me about you every other day. He didn't understand. No matter how many times I tried to explain it to him. He missed you something dreadful. We both did." Robin shifts his attention, yet again, this time to the youngest member of their group. "Is this going to be okay with you, lad - me and your mum get married?"

Henry grins bringing a warm light to his mother's eyes. "Sure, it's cool; as long as you love her."

"You sure about that? It won't be just you and me anymore?" Regina raises a patient eyebrow.

Her son waves the comment aside. "Mom, it hasn't been just you and me for three years now. Adding a couple more people to the family is no big deal. Well, it is a big deal. Just not in a bad way. It's kinda cool. I get a little brother; one who is impressively good with a bow and arrow, especially given his age. Maybe, if I teach him how to play video games, he'll teach me how to shoot. Plus, we all get a sweet new place to live. If anybody had told me three years ago, that one day you would be living in a refurbished giant old apple barn, I would've told them that they needed medication."

Regina laughs as Robin's blue eyes sparkle with parental pride. "Roland is pretty good. But it's only been the last seven or eight months that he started showing a genuine aptitude for it. Before that, he's only real interest was in emulating me. Now, I think he's reached a place where he wants to be good at it for the sake of being good at it; not just because I am. If you two want to trade lessons, that's fine. Just make sure you stay down range when he shoots. He does still miss the infrequent shot."

Henry laughs. "If he didn't, I'd be intimidated. he's only four, and I promise you he's better than me. I've never even picked up a bow and arrow. I know absolutely nothing about it."

"That may be true, but if you do him the honor of asking him for lessons, you'll make him feel like he's ten feet tall. He won't be able to teach you more than he knows; which is just the basics, but it might be good for him. He gets frustrated with himself. He wishes he were better at it. Maybe while the two of you are at it, and I can give your mum a few lessons as well."

"Me?" Regina nudges his shoulder playfully with her own. "What do I need with a bow and arrow?"

Smiling, he nudges her back and challenges her. "Oh, I know you don't need them." "I just thought you might enjoy acquiring a bit of skill; you know a wee bit of finesse. As opposed to magically hurling flaming arrows at three-headed hell hounds that are four times the size of mastodons."

"Hey! I realize it may not have been the greatest display of ability, but I did keep you from becoming his favorite chew toy."

"And for that, I am eternally grateful."

Mary Margaret's eyes go wide. "You guys bumped into Cerberus, and you're still here to tell the tale?"

Regina stares with incredulity. "That monstrosity has a name? Like it's somebody's pet?"

Robin nods. "According to our new world's Greek mythology, he is a pet, of sorts. He belongs to a Hades, and he's supposed to be stationed at the gate to the underworld to keep people from leaving."

When Regina raises a curious eyebrow, he shrugs. "What? I checked out a book from the library. Apparently, most people think the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology were also nothing more than storybook characters. Just another book. Sort of like that book of folklore you gave me about myself."

"You didn't think to mention this earlier?"

"What? Like when you were trying to scare him off. That didn't seem like the right moment to distract you with idle chit chat."

Regina tilts her head to one side, shrugs, and says, "You've got me there." Then she groans and adds in frustration, "but I wasn't trying to scare him off. I was trying to incinerate him."

"Well, you gave it a good try. I'm sure he'll think about it every time he sits down for the next month or so." He squeezes her shoulders proudly. "She did manage to set his bum on fire, though according to what I read, the only way to kill him may be to take aim against, and hit, all three heads simultaneously."

Mary Margaret nods. An old friend of mine was supposed to defeat him. He died though. God, I hope he's not here. We'll have to find out."

Robin nods. "Hercules; you knew him?"

She nods in response. "He's the one that taught me to shoot. He also motivated me to…ahem…" She looks pointedly at Regina. "fight for the kingdom at a point when I was really low."

Regina shakes her head. "Well, if he's here, we'll have to find him, and then find a way to help him leave this place." She pauses until she and Mary Margaret conclude dryly in unison. "It's the least we can do."

Before the room, and everyone in it, can become mired down in memories of the past, Mary Margaret moves on. "What kind of wedding do you two want? A big lavish affair? Or something simple and quaint?"

The entire gathering of friends watches as the newly engaged couple exchanges a silent look that lasts for several seconds. Though neither of them speaks a single word aloud, at length, they nod before Regina continues. "We're aiming for somewhere in the middle, closer to simple than lavish."

"Really?" Mary Margaret says, obviously, a bit surprised.

Regina nods. "A wedding should reflect the tastes and personalities of both people involved. Robin is not going to be comfortable if the whole town is literally in attendance. And, we're talking about a man who currently lives in a tent. To him, that kind of expense is wasteful. I won't ask him to go into debt for one day; not even our wedding day. Besides, I've had the extravagant wedding that the entire kingdom was invited to." She shrugs; almost, but not quite, apologetically. "If there's no love, it's pointless. If there is love, it's unnecessary. I didn't want it then. I don't want it, or need it, now."

"Okay." Mary Margaret says agreeably and obviously not offended. "So, what do you need?"

Regina smiles, a rare genuine smile. "Robin… Henry… Roland… and someone to officiate." She turns her gaze to Robin. "Maybe we could ask the Mother Superior. Do you think she would?"

"The blue fairy? Sure. Why not?"

Mary Margaret shakes her head emphatically. "You need more than that to get married! You don't have to invite the whole town if you don't want to, but you must have a dress, and bridesmaids and groomsmen – Robin do you think you can clean the merry men up for a day. They are just the tiniest bit rough around the edges - a cake, a church, oh… and maybe a horse drawn carriage..."

Regina gestures toward Mary Margaret and says to Robin in a loud stage whisper. "Our self-appointed wedding planner… We may have created a monster… A matrimonial monster."

Their group of friends laughs.

When Mary Margaret says, "Oh hush up! You crashed my wedding, and in all your Evil Queenliness too, I might add!" They laugh even harder.

Regina scowls with mock severity. "So, what? In retribution, you're going to commandeer mine?"

"Yes. I am." Mary Margaret bobs her chin emphatically before she turns her attention to Regina's father. Don't you worry, sir. I'll see to it your daughter has everything she should. I'll make sure it's done properly."

The king chuckles softly and bows his head in thanks.

 **Chapter 36: Some Explanation Required**

In the days following their engagement announcement, Henry Mills quietly observes his daughter, and her old enemies, turned friends, go about offering aid those who wish to be helped to leave the underworld. At first, they must approach people. As word quietly spreads, people began approaching them. The group usually makes a habit of traveling in pairs, so no one is left alone and defenseless, in case trouble should arise.

And just like it has, every day since their arrival, trouble does rear its ugly head - quite literally.

For long moments, Henry allows himself to mentally sort through the events of yesterday.

Was it only yesterday, he'd been here, at the barn, along with Regina, Robin and Ruby while the rest of the gang was out on the supply run? They had all came rushing in breathlessly; each of them talking excitedly at once making initial comprehension of the event that has come to pass difficult to understand.

"What?" Regina had demanded. "What's happened?" She had instantly reached for her son and stepped closer to her father in that same moment. Taking the boy's face in her hands and looking him over from head to toe for signs of anything wrong or out of place, she asked him, "Are you okay?"

Henry had answered quickly. "I'm fine Mom. Nothing happened to me."

Regina had taken in her son's wide-eyed expression and demanded again in a voice of deadly calm, "What happened?"

Emma said. "I went with him. I thought he was Dad. I was at the loft, and he just walked in. He started talking to me like… like he was Dad. And idiot me; I just believed him."

Regina had squinted. "You believed who?" Even as she had asked the question, the pieces must've fallen into place in his daughter's mind. "James?"

"Yeah. In town, we split up to make the supply shopping go that much faster. I had to go by the loft to pick up Henry's jacket. He just walked right in like he owned the place, and I fell for it."

Regina, who had begun to pace, rolled her eyes and motioned with her hand in a way that said, "Get on with it." as she talked. "Never mind that, Swan. I get it. You were duped. He looks like your dad. What happened?"

"The sneaky, lying, bastard said Mom needed help getting supplies back to the loft. I was an idiot. Dad would've stayed with her and helped her himself. He wouldn't have left her alone. But I followed him out to the docks. I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. He was trying to push me in.

"Into the river of lost souls?" Regina had stopped pacing at once.

Emma had nodded; looking slightly pale. "We struggled, he slapped a cuff on my wrist. – either your sister got out of hers, or there's more than one of these things - and all the while, he was ranting about how my dad stole his glory. Mom, Dad, Hook, and Henry all came running up in time to stop him and Cruella from shoving me in. That bitch punched me in the face! She tried to kill my son! Never mind the fact that she couldn't actually do it. She tried to kill my son, she wound up dead, so now she feels justified to punch me in the face! When I get my hands on her!" Emma scowled. "She ran off like some scared little whipped dog after Mom and Dad got the upper hand." Emma thrusts out her own wrist. "Will somebody please take this thing off me!"

"Zelena is not free of hers. If she were, she'd been wreaking havoc; trust me" Regina had reached out and, quick as lightning, she snatched the pirate's hook and used it to pluck the wide cuff from Emma's wrist, dropping it on a nearby end table. She returned the hook to its rightful owner just as quickly as she had snatched it.

Putting it back in place, the pirate commented dryly. "Brazen move, Your Majesty. People have died for less than stealing this man's hook."

Wholly unconcerned, Regina had sarcastically returned fire. "Shiver me timbers!"

Ignoring their usual banter, Emma had concluded her tirade while rubbing her wrist as if the cuff had pinched off her circulation. "By the way Dad, did you know that your brother and Cruella are apparently knocking boots? Or rather, they were." Emma had shivered in revulsion and Henry watched his daughter chew on the inside of her lower lip to keep from laughing when Emma's father had mirrored the action perfectly.

"Thanks for that Emma! That falls under the heading of something I could've lived without knowing."

Emma had lightly smacked her father on the shoulder. "Sure Dad, anytime."

Regina pulled them back around to the topic at hand. "So, you survived… Obviously. Where's James?"

David had frowned with a mix of sorrow and anger. "Headlong in the river. But there's more to it. James isn't James. Or at least, he's not just James."

Regina had studied him intuitively. "No, now he's a lost soul, and sometimes there's nothing you can do David. It's not your fault. A person has to want to be saved. They have to want to save themselves."

"No, that's not what I mean. Or at least, that's not all I mean. Emma pulled free, but she lost her footing, Hook lunged after her. He saved her. Before that, she was too close to James. Mary Margaret couldn't get a clear shot. When she could, she fired on him." David stops. Momentarily too overcome to continue and his wife picks up in the telling of the tale where he left off.

"My arrow couldn't hurt him. He is already dead. It did, however, piss him off. That's when he transformed."

Having shook her head, Regina also squinted. "I'm guessing… He either transformed into a hideous giant three-headed dog, or an equally hideous giant dragon."

Mary Margaret had nodded and said matter-of-factly. "The second one."

Regina's eyes had only widened a fraction of an inch before she shrugged. "Nothing surprises me anymore." She declared in a deadpan whisper.

"Well, this might surprise you. The only reason we're all still standing here is because your mother intervened. She's the one who tossed James' scaly butt into the river of souls. She just appeared out of nowhere, in her usual wine-colored puff of smoke, blasted both of his wings at once, and disappeared the same way she arrived. Without so much as a single word."

Regina shook her head again. "That doesn't surprise me either. It just confirms my suspicions that she's up to something. Cora never does anything without a reason. But hey, Hades is down one more soul."

David clears his throat. "Before we start taking stock of the tote board. I'm gonna need a few minutes to wrap my head around this one, Regina. My twin brother was a dragon."

She had nodded and shrugged at the same time. "My sister is the Wicked Witch of the West and she's married to Lord Death. David, all of us in this room have at least one relative we would like to shove back into the deepest darkest spider-infested corner of the closet."

"Yeah, but you all know about your relatives. I just found out about James. Can you give me a minute? We were identical twins! I am not a dragon…" He sighed heavily. "At least I don't think I am."

Catching on to his train of thought, Regina had softened just a bit. "Is that what's on your mind? Relax David. You are not a dragon. After all the hell we've been through, after all the times I tried to kill your wife, if you were, you would have transformed long before now. Mal never transformed unless she was angry or felt threatened. Maybe you weren't as identical as you think you were. Maybe, at some point in his life, your brother was cursed."

"David, Honey, that could be true. It's not like the two of you grew up together. It's not like you would have any absolute way of knowing. "Mary Margaret offered; ever the optimist."

"Then how do you explain the fact that he apparently was a very skilled dragon slayer." David had inquired.

Regina had shrugged, yet again. "That's easy. Self-loathing. It's the same reason those who are homophobic, lash out at, and assault, gay people."

David had paused to think this over for a moment before saying quietly, "Thanks Regina. That makes sense. You're saying, he either knew he was a dragon, and hated himself for it, or he didn't know for sure, but was afraid it might be true. Thanks, that helps."

Regina had waived his gratitude aside dismissively. "That's at least a third of the reason I want to throw a fireball at Rumpelstiltskin every time I see his face."

Having come into the room with the rest of them, Robin had joined the conversation with, "You know Regina. That fits your theory rather nicely."

She had squinted at her fiancé incredulously. "I'm sorry… What theory? What are you talking about?"

Robin had locked eyes with her and for just a moment, they communicated only with each other, mentally excluding everyone else in the room. "The other day… When that dragon provided Hades with the distraction he needed to gain entry into the vault… Lily's father… Remember?"

Regina shook her head. "That was just conjecture. I hardly think now is the time to share, besides we have no proof."

Emma squinted, puzzling her way through the conversation and connecting the missing links. "You're not suggesting that you think Lily and I are cousins? You think James and Mal…" She left the rest hanging unsaid in the air.

Regina wobbled her head side to side in an indecisive fashion. "In a queasy sort of way, it makes sense."

Emma rubbed her own forearms as if she suddenly felt soiled and in need of a long hot bath. "You wanna tell me how that makes sense?"

"I'm sorry, Emma. Look, I know it's uncomfortable. But if you think about it, everybody else in Storybrooke is connected in one way or another. Your parents had you, I cast the curse that brought us all to Storybrooke, and 18 years later you slept with the son of the Dark One, and I adopted Henry. Lily has been a part of your life since you were a child. She found her way too you, or you found your way to her; the same way Henry found me. Maybe it's fate. Maybe we are all destined to be a part of this big, weirdly joined, family for all eternity."

A look of dread had seized Mary Margaret. "I hate to say this, but Regina has a point. A very salient one. David, please tell me we did not abduct our own niece."

"Well, if we did, we didn't do it knowingly."

"David! That hardly matters."

"Well, we already know we did abduct somebody. That part's not a shock. Why should we feel any worse than we already do? It's not like we knowingly chose to abduct a family member."

Hook tried to offer support. There's no point beating yourselves up for something that can never be confirmed."

"Oh, yes it can." Emma declared. "All we need is to make it home. Once we do that, all it takes is a little cheek swab. Compare my DNA to hers, and if we really are cousins, it'll show. Not like a parent to child match, but it will show."

Regina's laughter had been harsh, devoid of humor. "Once again, we're back to talking about paternity tests."

Well, not to change the subject." Emma had said. "But, Hades is dead, right?"

Regina rested her hands on her hips. "He has no heartbeat, so technically, medically, yes; he's dead. Why do you ask?"

"Can a dead man even…"

Regina had held up a finger to cut her off. "Swan, don't you even finish that question! The answer had damn well better be yes… by magic. Because if one person in this room says anything about Hades and erectile dysfunction in the same breath, I might just wretch."

Hook tries unsuccessfully to smother a quiet chuckle. "We don't have to say anything about it, Love. You just did."

Regina had taken a moment to shiver in disgust and then dismissed the unpleasant thought. "Emma, you have already said that James and Cruella were… Enjoying each other's company. Therefore, it has to be something that can be done down here."

Emma shrugged. "The physical act; yeah sure. But, this place runs on magic. Still, there must be some limits to what magic can do. We already know there are. How does a dead man create life? If he's dead, isn't his …stuff… dead too. And here's another disturbing thought - why would he want to? He's dead. What parent is going to want a living child to spend an entire life in the underworld."

Regina shook her head. "I don't know. Not me. But I'm not Hades. As a parent, every cell in my body screams, no parent would want that."

"She's right." Mary Margaret said. "No parent would want that for their child. I don't care how dark they are - maybe." She shivers in response to her own personal thoughts. "Maybe he's not dead."

Maybe, if he truly loves Zelena, maybe true love's kiss can restart a heart. Assuming, of course, that the heart is intact."

Ruby posed a question of her own. "If he's alive, then what's he still doing down here. If he's not dead, then is he still tethered to this place?"

Emma shrugged. "Maybe, some of us are tethered here in spite of the fact that we aren't dead."

Ruby offered, "Regina has said more than once she feels like they are up to something. Maybe this is it. Maybe he's not dead. Maybe, he can't leave. Maybe he's holding us here hoping one of us will provide a solution. Maybe he thinks one of us is his ticket out of here."

Following that conversation, this weirdly connected family, here in the underworld before their time, had redoubled their efforts to make certain that no one was ever left alone. Because the barn was more spacious than the loft, and offered more comfort for the entire group, they relocated, and Regina magically sealed the place against prying eyes. Hades might be privy to what they said and did when they were out in public, but Henry rested in the knowledge that the god had no idea what was said and done within these walls. He felt safe; safe for the first time in decades, and this freedom gave him time to think. Time to think about things that were far more important to him.

Now folded into their group, for the time being, someone is always with him. Usually Regina, and occasionally Emma. On an even rarer occasion he is briefly left in the company of someone who possesses no magical ability but is armed to the teeth.

All this company leaves him pleasantly tired. After more than thirty years he's gotten use to his solitary existence in this desolate place, and with the rest of them currently scattered throughout the house, he finds himself with a rare moment of solitude to indulge in those thoughts. Although he enjoys time spent with all of them, Regina and his grandson continue to be the most brilliant source of light in this dull existence. Snow and David are as sweet and well-intentioned as ever. The swan and the pirate are colorful people. Ruby… She reminds him of someone; someone from his past. Like Ruby, she was intelligent but unassuming, self-possessed, beautifully unpolished and flamboyant. The wolf's presence leads Henry to miss her all the more; making an old heartache bittersweet. Then there is Robin. The man has done something that no other has – not even Daniel. The stable boy was worthy enough, to be sure, but he had been in love with a woman-child who did not fully know herself. Robin, on the other hand, recognizes parts of Regina that she too is now completely aware of, even if she can't bear to have these parts reflected back to her for too long; and he loves her in spite of the darkness…

Henry chuckles quietly to himself as a second thought occurs to him while he sits comfortably in their enormous underworld living room, in a chair obviously meant for Robin, gazing out at the forest through one of the recently repaired floor to ceiling windows. They've talked often enough for the king to come to understand… Maybe it's not despite the darkness, maybe he loves her because of the darkness. The man is sedate, honorable, and well-bred beyond what his chosen lifestyle would seem to imply. Henry has tried on two separate occasions to ask him about family. On both such occasions, he spoke in detail only of Roland, his late wife, his merry men, and Regina. Robin did mention his mother in passing but declined to talk further about her or any other relation. Clearly, the subject is one he does not care to dwell upon, and Henry can hardly fault him. For he has no desire to speak of most of his own relations.

Knowing it is her, even before he turns, he hears his daughter approach and reaches up to pat the hand that comes to rest gently on his shoulder as she perches lightly on the arm of the chair. However, no sooner than she is down, she rises again. "You look lost in thought. Should I leave you?"

"No, no… Sit. I'm just thinking about Robin."

"Oh?" She studies his face quietly for a long moment; searching his eyes before a frown creases her forehead. "You don't disapprove? Do you?"

He quickly drapes an arm around her shoulders and squeezes them affectionately. "Not a bit. Don't trouble yourself with such thoughts. He's a fine man. I was just wondering where he came from."

"Sherwood Forest with a quick stop over in the Enchanted Forest before arriving in Storybrooke." Regina relays matter-of-factly.

"Yes, yes, and before that?"

"Well, I don't know, Daddy. He never talks about anything before Sherwood Forest."

Henry chuckles at what he knows better than to call naiveté on her part. "Well, he did not simply spring forth amongst the trees one day, My Girl."

She rolls her eyes. "I know that Daddy."

"I know you know that."

"He doesn't want to talk about anything before Sherwood Forest. I don't press."

"Not even a little?"

"No, not even a little."

Henry raises an eyebrow. "You're not curious?"

"Of course, I am; and don't look at me like that Daddy. There's nothing to worry about. I trust him. You can too."

"I haven't said that I don't. And there's nothing you can say that will make me stop worrying for you. I'm your father, Regina. That's what fathers do… And anyway, I'm not worried per se; just curious. I would've thought you would be curious enough to discover more by now."

"There are things I would like to know. He will tell me when he's ready."

Henry squints incredulously at his daughter. "Patience was never your strong suit. Things haven't changed that much; have they?"

Regina laughs drolly. "No. They certainly haven't. I'm still not patient. It's just… He doesn't question me about the past either. There are plenty of things back there I'd rather not have to discuss. It would be hypocritical of me to try and force him to talk about things I'm not yet ready to talk about myself." She repeats, "He'll tell me when he's ready. But honestly Daddy, I don't care if the man came from an ancient pride of murdering, bloodthirsty, lions whose ancestry reaches back for eons."

Henry coughs dryly and raises an eyebrow as if he's asking a question. "To the best of my knowledge, lions do not have a human form."

Regina shrugs. "I've never heard of it either. But, why can't it be possible? Dragons have a human form. Wolves have a human form. Why not lions?"

"Somehow, I doubt his past is quite that… bloodstained."

Regina tilts her head to one side. "You're right, it's probably not that bad. But I don't care if it is. Daddy, it's not as though my own hands are, or ever will be, clean." She holds out her hands, studying them. "And for reasons that pass my understanding, he's not afraid of them. Last week when he asked me if we could try again, despite everything that's happened, I didn't think we'd ever get here. I certainly didn't expect it to happen this quickly, and in the underworld of all places. He couldn't wait until we got home. He couldn't even wait until I shifted back again. I told him he was crazy. Who in their right mind would propose to the evil queen? But he did, and he swears he's lucid. He says he doesn't want to leave this life without ever having been my husband. So - no, I don't have a clue where he came from beyond what little he's already told me, Daddy. He took to the forest when he decided to become a bandit; a thief with honor. I don't know what came before that, and I sure as hell don't deserve him, but I'm glad he's here. I love him … and I'm going to marry him."

"And you have my blessing, along with my love. Don't waste time. Don't put it off. Go home, get married, and don't allow anything more or anyone else to ever come between the two of you. Don't deny yourself happiness Regina. It's not possible to have too much."

"But, did you get enough Daddy? Is that why you're here? Regrets over missed opportunities to be happy?"

"No… not that I don't have any, I do. However, I'm not here because of some missed opportunity for happiness. I'm here for the person who gave me the greatest happiness I've ever known. I'm here for you, Regina." He reaches up and gently brushes away the stray teardrop that is suddenly sliding down her cheek "I've spent the last few days wishing you would leave this place and never look back. I have wanted you to be nearly any place but here. I was wrong. Stay, and help as many as you can before you go home and have that wedding. The hope you and your friends are spreading has a greater power over Hades than you know. It has a far greater effect on him than just the number of people whom you could help to leave this place. Try hard to make peace with your sister… For your own sake. Build this place, fill it with as much joy as you can, and think of me from time to time. Don't forget who you are, my girl. Know always, that I am proud to be your father."

Regina throws her arms around him and sobs quietly. "I would not have thought it possible before coming here, but now, Daddy, I think I'll miss you even more than I did." Sighing heavily, she forces herself to pull away slightly and wipes her own face with trembling hands. "Do you think you can go now? How does it work? Some people here say that every time someone leaves, the clock ticks. I have heard it happen a few times, but I've never been with anyone when they left this pl…."

Regina stalls, mesmerized by the sudden warm glowing golden-white light that cascades in from the skylight far above the spiral staircase. Breathlessly, she whispers, "Daddy, what is that?"

As someone in a flowing pale green gown and matching cloak slowly descends the staircase, being careful not to step outside the dazzling beam of light that preceded her arrival. Henry Mills rises to his feet, gently pulling his daughter to hers as well. "I think that's my way out. He whispers quietly before the woman in green is close enough to be recognized.

Once she is near enough; once she removes her hood to reveal her long mane of flowing silver hair and says softly, "Hello Henry." Regina sees a smile like none she's ever beheld on her father's face."

"Maggie?" He takes an involuntary step toward her. "What… what in the name of all that is holy, are you doing here!" He stammers clumsily.

The woman Regina has never seen before gently laughs at her father; teasing "Still as unpolished as ever; I see. It's wonderful to see you, too."

"Well yes, yes, of course, it's lovely to see you again."

Her soft laughter is somehow bolder and more musical when she says, "It better be! I went to a lot of trouble to be here for this! You'd better make it worth my while, Mister!"

Henry laughs and the sound of unrestrained joy rising up from deep within his chest causes his daughter to look at him briefly as if he's a complete stranger; one she's never encountered before. "Oh, I have missed you dearly, Mags. This is my daughter, R…"

"Yes, yes. Let's not stand on formality Henry. There's not a lot of time. Let's not waste what little there is on boring proper introductions. You can tell her all about me after I've gone. Hello Regina. Thank you for being here. Thank you for easing your father's troubled mind. It's been very difficult to watch from so far away and not be able to do anything to comfort him."

Because she has no idea what else to say, Regina shrugs and says simply, "You're welcome."

Having stopped at a point halfway down the stairs; staying within the brilliant light from above, she beckons to both of them with her hands. "You'll have to come to me. I can go no further"

Arriving from elsewhere, after having noticed the brilliant light suddenly streaming into the barn courtesy of the skylight, where previously there had only been a dull red glow, both Robin and Regina's son come from different directions to meet on the second-floor landing overhead. Stunned into silence they stare in quiet wonder at the sight before them.

"What going on?" Robin queries, trying to sound casual despite the uncertainty in his voice.

"It's alright Robin." Henry assures as they ascend to stand before her. "Maggie won't hurt Regina. She's an old friend, come to escort me onward."

Only once the two of them have stepped completely within the beam of light does Maggie take hold of Henry's hand. "Well now." She laughs softly again. "If all I am is an old friend, then I'm afraid this may not work."

"Oh hush, Mags! I didn't mean it that way, and you know it!"

Still mildly confused, Regina can't help but glance back and forth between the two of them and smile at their easy camaraderie. She silently glances up to Robin and shrugs in response to the unasked question in his eyes.

"Good, because if you haven't fallen out of love with me, then you have a choice to make. You can come with me now – or, with a little help from your daughter, you can go home with her for a few more years, and oh… I don't know… Maybe get to know your grandchildren… All of them."

Henry and his daughter wear identical expressions; incredulous scowls, afraid to hope.

"Don't tease us, Mags. That's not possible."

"Oh, but I assure you. It is… If you love me?"

Regina turns to her father and raises an eyebrow; beyond curious and yet somehow, she isn't surprised when he answers the question with a single word. "Irrevocably."

"Good then. It's all settled." She turns to Regina and raises her own eyebrow. "As long as you promise to take better care of him this time around, dear?"

Regina nods in earnest. "Yes Ma'am. Yes, of course. Only… I don't understand how. He doesn't have a heart anymore. He can't return to life without one."

"Well, that's easily remedied." She smiles peacefully. "He can have mine."

Regina's father shakes his head emphatically. "Maggie no!" He says sternly.

"Well, I don't know why not!" She laughs at the scowl on his face. "I'm not using it. We don't need them up here."

Henry studies her face. "You're sure it won't hurt you?"

"Henry darling, I've moved on to a better place. Nothing can hurt me. Not really. I'm sure there might be a moment or two of discomfort, but you're worth it - most of the time!"

Maggie watches father and daughter stare at each other for a long beat. "Not to rush this along, but you need to choose. Come with me or go home with Regina. Either choice is fine. If you stay behind, I'll be back a few years from now to take you the rest of the way."

Regina watches as her father gives serious consideration to the possibilities before him. He glances at both women before him. He glances at his grandson, and also at the man his daughter loves."

"Regina knows how to split a heart so that it can be shared amongst two people. Can you come with me if I stay?"

Regina hisses quietly. "Daddy, I've only done that once."

"And look how beautifully it worked." Her father answers with complete confidence.

Maggie shakes her head sadly. "I'm afraid, even if she did it flawlessly, it wouldn't work in my case. I don't have a body to return to. Yours however has been rather perfectly preserved Your daughter is one talented mage; and she's only just begun. But, you needn't trouble yourself. I promise I'll be here when you are ready. I've waited this long. What's a few more years when you've waited nearly sixty, already? And, when they're over, you'll be by my side for eternity. Yes, I think that's worth waiting a few more years for."

Regina carefully studies her father's face. "it's okay, Daddy. You can go. If that's what you want, I won't keep you from it. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

Upstairs, Robin puts his arm around Henry. "We'll take good care of her sir; upon my honor."

The encouragement from both parties only seems to make the decision harder for him until Maggie declares, "Oh for goodness sake, Henry! Do you know what I would give to hold my daughter again, not to mention my grandbabies? I have six of them now. Six of them I've never been able to hug, kiss goodnight, or tuck into bed. Do you really still need me to tell you what to do! Go home to Storybrooke… the real Storybrooke. Walk your daughter down the aisle. Dance with her at her wedding, tell your own grandchildren about me, and try to find some peace in life without Cora weighing you down."

Turning to Regina, she second guesses her choice of words. "Sorry, I could have phrased that better. I meant no offense."

Regina waves the comment aside. "None was taken. I love my mother… but she is a bit of an albatross."

"Alright then. We had best get on with it. The transfer first, if you please."

Regina stares at the woman, and then at her own hand. "You're absolutely certain, it won't hurt you?"

Darling, you could crush my heart and it still won't hurt me. But something tells me you won't be making that mistake twice."

When his daughter glances his way, Henry gives the slightest nod in approval.

Regina breathes deeply. "Okay… If you two are sure about this." She pauses for a second, giving either of them the chance to back out. When neither does, she says, "Maggie I'm afraid there really is no way to do this gently. It's not pleasant."

Maggie shrugs. "I should certainly hope not." She inhales deeply but doesn't so much as flinch when Regina thrusts her hand inward, closing it as gently as possible around the heart this kind stranger is offering up. Pulling it free of her chest, Regina cradles it gently in the palm of her hand and briefly stares at the glowing red organ that shimmers faint traces of the purest white light she has ever seen.

Before he has another second to think about it, before he has time to object, she roughly relocates the heart to its new home inside her father's chest. She understands, what must happen next, and even while he's still gasping for breath, she releases him and steps away, giving the couple as much privacy as possible.

Regina tries not to watch as her father takes both of this woman's hands in his. Instead, she smiles up at Robin and her son as her father says, "I don't know why you would do this for me Mags. I don't deserve it, but I thank you."

"First, it didn't cost me a thing. Love never does. Second, of course you deserve it. We are all worthy of love."

Although Regina is still looking at Robin, and doesn't see it happen, she knows the moment their lips touch. The resulting burst of magic is a minor detonation, strong enough to nearly knock her off her feet and make the entire barn sway harshly on its foundation. As she stumbles and gropes for the nearest wall, Regina murmurs under her breath. "Wow, now that should wake Hades up."

When the rafters stop creaking, she glances up to find the couple smiling down at her. Maggie beckons to her warmly. "Come quickly. I must leave."

Regina raises a curious eyebrow, but quickly places her hand in the one being offered, Immediately. upon contact, she senses herself being flooded with an intense warmth that literally fills her from the inside out. For a moment she's mildly queasy and profoundly dizzy, she feels an unexpected searing flash of pain low in her abdomen that nearly drives her to her knees, but it dissipates completely in the next instant and then she feels a soft tingly sensation engulf her whole body. She almost feels as though she might be glowing.

When it's over, Robin is mildly concerned by the dazed look on her face. As he starts in her direction, she holds him off with a raised hand. "No, it's okay. I'm alright. What was that?" She inquires in an awe-struck voice.

"Nothing to trouble yourself over. Just a small non-returnable wedding gift for you and your thief."

Regina laughs boldly when this mystery woman her father calls Mags turns and winks at Robin; flirting with him.

Before any of them can say anything more, she lifts the hem of her gown and quickly retraces her steps. Ascending the staircase and returning to the light from which she came, she calls over her shoulder, blowing kisses as she goes, "Take care of him for me." To Henry, she says simply. "Until we meet again, my darling."

When the last trace of brilliant white light dissipates in its entirety, and the dreary red sky of the underworld is once again visible through the skylight at the top of the stairwell, Regina looks around. She finds tears of happiness glistening in her father's eyes. She also finds that every friend in the house has joined them and stands by, a discreet distance away. All of them watching with a slightly dazed, if not outright misty, quality to their eyes.

Stepping nearer to her father once more, she throws her arms around him and hugs him tightly for long sweet seconds before pulling back slightly in his embrace and announcing, "You've got some explaining to do!"

 **Chapter 37: Henry Explains**

With an arm around her father, Regina turns attempting to return with him to his chair in the living room. When she stumbles, as if her equilibrium is slightly out of balance, swaying and catching herself with some help from her father, Robin descends the stairs two at a time and drapes his own arm around her back.

"I'm alright." She insists softly. "I'm just a little woozy. I'll be fine in a minute."

Taking the hand Robin isn't holding, her father declares. "You don't look fine, My Girl. In fact, you look…. This is the first time I've ever seen anyone look tickled pink when they also look decidedly green around the gills."

Regina chuckles unconvincingly. "I'll be fine in a minute. Stop fussing." She tries to extricate herself from their embraces but the two men, gently but forcibly, walk her across the room and lower her into the chair her father vacated only moments before.

"There, I'm down." She declares. "Now let go. Back off, give a girl room to breathe. I'm fine. I told you… Maggie told you… I'm fine… In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm wonderful. As she rubs her own abdomen, she comes as near to giggling as Robin has ever heard her.

While the rest of them gather around wearing puzzled expressions, Robin kneels before her and takes both of her hands in his. "Stop being stubborn. Let us help you."

"I'm not being stubborn." Regina laughs merrily. "I don't need help."

When Robin raises an eyebrow, unconvinced, she sighs. Finally giving in, she clarifies her statement. "Oh, okay, I'm not just being stubborn. I'm fine. I swear it!" She touches his worried face affectionately. "You just don't understand. She didn't hurt me."

"Alright then. Suppose you enlighten the rest of us, because, for a moment there… Just for a moment… I swear I saw pain register on your face. What exactly did she mean by, 'small, non-returnable, wedding gift."

Regina smiles and kisses him quickly on the mouth. "I'm almost certain the word 'non-returnable' was just her discreet way of telling us that from now on we might want to consider being a little more careful." She wraps both arms protectively around her middle. "It's nothing to worry about. I'm pretty sure she just fixed…eh…" Regina glances at the crowd of faces around them. "my little problem."

For Robin, the penny drops almost instantly, and he smiles affectionately. "Really?"

Wide eyed, Regina nods and repeats, "I'm pretty sure." While both Emma and Mary Margaret ask in unison, "What little problem?"

Still smiling, Regina stomps a foot in mild frustration and shoos them away "None of your business! Go away!" She laughs. "I promise, I'm fine. She looks pointedly at Emma. "You are still a savior; aren't you? Go… Save some souls… Help someone cross over. Leave me alone, so I can talk to my dad."

Mary Margaret scowls, but acquiesces.

Emma protests while gesturing with her hands. "But…"

Sensing that some privacy is desired, David takes the matter in hand. "Come friends." He says with exaggerated patience. "Let us away."

Rising to his feet once more, Robin asks, "You're sure that's what happened?"

Regina nods. "As sure as I can be. We can talk about it later, okay?"

Robin kisses her quickly, lightly, like it's a habit, and then he steps away with their friends; his hands lingering in hers until he's far enough away that he has no choice but to let go.

Regina waits until they're out of hearing range, and then turns her full attention to her father. "Okay, tell me…"

Henry paces for a long moment; collecting his thoughts and deciding where to be began. Briefly, he considers whether, or not, there are things he should leave out. He studies her carefully for a few seconds, and all the while, she silently watches him watch her. Ultimately, he decides that while she may be his child, she is no longer a child. She hasn't been for quite some time. He decides to go with the unabridged and unabashed truth of it all. He sits down on a sofa upholstered in pale green and beige silk and leans forward; resting his elbows on his knees. Studying his care-worn, elderly, hands he begins to talk.

"We've known each other since our infancy. Marguerite iris Darrington grew up at Mourning Dale, the Mills family palace. My father, your grandfather, did not mind us being childhood chums. Or, more likely, he didn't notice. As we grew older, he didn't approve of my spending so much time with his steward's daughter. Mother told him we were only children; there was no reason for concern. So, for a while, he left us, and our relationship, to her discretion. By the time I was 14 I knew she was the one. No one in the family believed me. How could anyone know, at such a young age, that they had found their life mate. But, I did know. My father continued to humor us. He seldom took me seriously. I'm afraid I've always been a bit too analytical, a bit too bookish for him to find me credible. He thought that a man's worthiness was proved in other, more masculine ways, mainly in battle. I've never cared for fighting, not as long as a peaceable solution can be reached. Bloodshed may have its place, but it is always the last resort. I was also the youngest of four children; three boys, one girl. In his eyes, my two older brothers were far worthier of his time and attention. My sister, two years my senior; she was the brains of the family and the best of us all. She was, by far, the best choice for the throne. A sweet, old soul, a natural born leader, and the best friend a brother could hope to have. However, father never knew it. Unfortunately for her, she was also beautiful, and to my father's way of thinking as long as a female had that going for her, she needed nothing more. He controlled every aspect of her life, which culminated in an arranged marriage to a horridly cruel Marquis who beat her to death within the first two years of their marriage."

When a solitary tear slides down her father's face, Regina gets up and goes to him. She perches lightly on the coffee table in front of him. Taking hold of a hand, she squeezes it; offering comfort.

He smiles sadly and continues. In a whisper, he offers sweetly, "Her name was Regina. Your mother wanted to name you Veronique. She thought it fitting for a future queen." He scowls at the name, and then laughs at a memory. She was furious with me. I thought she would end me! The midwife came in with your birth certificate while she was sleeping, about half an hour after you were born. By the time Cora woke it was a done deal."

"Veronique?" The scowl on Regina's face precisely mirrors the one on her father's. "You saved me! Thank you, Daddy!"

He pats her knee. "My two brothers fought amongst themselves like villainous warlords, competing for the throne until Andrew died of Typhus. After that Frederick was beyond insufferable. He knew there was no competition between he and I. Even if he hadn't been the older of the two of us, he held father's favor, and he knew it. It didn't bother me. I had no desire to be king. I did not want the Kingdom. I wanted to be lord and master of a quaint little cottage with Maggie Darrington by my side.

The year we turned 17, the night of the Easter Ball. Frederick tried to seduce her. Don't misunderstand me. He cared nothing for her. He had no intentions other than satisfying his own perverse sexual predilections. He certainly gave no thought to marrying the lowly daughter of a steward. She was sweet, and innocent… But she had fire in her. When she refused to be persuaded, he smacked her around a bit. Roughed her up, and tore her clothes but she thunked him upside the head with a fireplace poker hard enough to draw blood and then chased him into the center of the crowded ballroom, half dressed, festivities in full swing, with a steak knife in her hand, where she very loudly, and very clearly, threatened to disembowel him and then remove his eyes with the dull end of a spoon in front of 200 people if he dared to ever so much look her way again. My father locked her up for treason. When her father, the steward, objected, Father tossed them both in the same cell. The trial was a farce. The night before they were to be executed, it's stormed… badly. I smuggled them out and gave them enough money to leave the kingdom. When your grandfather discovered what I had done, he had me publicly whipped; nearly to death. I didn't see Maggie again for 12 years. By then, we were both unhappily married. Me, to your mother, of course. Maggie, to an Earl who swore he fell hopelessly in love with her the first moment he laid eyes on her. Maggie said it was lust, rather than love. She said he wasn't smart enough to know the difference. She said he wasn't a bad man, just a boring one. She only married him because her father's health was failing, and she needed money for his care. She was honest with him. In full knowledge of her true feelings, he accepted the arrangement. They have one child; a daughter, whose birth she barely survived. Over the next several years, Maggie told me that following the birth of their daughter, she had a number of miscarriages. Ultimately, she died giving birth to the only child she carried to term with absolutely no health problems. At least not until something when wrong with the delivery. I was told that she went first. It was thought that everything was fine with the boy until a few minutes later when he simply stopped breathing. I think…"

Henry tries hard to restrict the mournful sob rising in his throat.

Regina sits quietly and squeezes her father's hand. She simply waits until he can go on with the story.

After a weighted moment, when he can, Henry says. "I wholeheartedly believe that baby was fine. She called him to her. I don't think she could bear to leave him behind. She named him Elijah, after her father. Regina…" Henry pauses to look at her, his eyes beseeching, begging her to understand some unsaid thing.

The deep unrelenting sorrow in his eyes literally makes her heart hurt. "What? What daddy? Tell me, please. What is it?" She touches his face gently; with love.

Henry whispers. Regina… He was your brother."

Her eyes go wide. For one terrifying second, he thinks he shouldn't have told her, and then, as he watches in astonishment, a single teardrop slides from each of her dark eyes. Quietly, she leaves her perch on the edge of the coffee table and gently relocates herself to his lap. Folding herself into his arms in a way she hasn't done since childhood, she rests her head on his shoulder and weeps. Not because of some hurt or injury she subjected herself to, and not because of anything Cora inflicted upon her. This time she cries with him over lost love; and over the child neither of them ever had the privilege of knowing.

They hold onto each other for a long time. And only when they've both exhausted their tears does she slide from her place in his lap to the sofa cushion beside him.

Henry mops at his face with a handkerchief and then hands it to his daughter.

Deliberately trying to wipe away any traces of watery eye makeup without the convenience of a mirror, Regina asks quietly, "How old was I when this happened?"

"You were 14. I got word the night of the winter solstice. I'm sure you remember. You walked into my parlor and found me in quite the state; quite similar to the one I was in just a moment ago."

Regina frowns and nods. "I do remember. Daddy…" She chastises lightly. "You should've told me. You should've explained. It scared me to see you that way without understanding why."

He squeezes her shoulders affectionately. "I know, sweetheart. I'm sorry, I couldn't."

"But why not? I was old enough."

He chuckles miserably. "I think that was part of the problem. You were old enough to understand… But still so young and innocent. I didn't want you to be ashamed of me, Regina."

She smacks him hard on the shoulder and then pulls him close.

Perplexed, he hugs her back as she whispers. "Oh Daddy! Of all the ridiculous things I have ever heard…" She chuckles softly. "That has to be at the top of the list. Don't you know? I couldn't be ashamed of you if my last breath depended on it."

He bends his neck awkwardly to look down at her. "You're not angry with me then; disappointed?"

Regina shakes her head adamantly. "I'm happy… Happy you had someone to love; at least for a little while. I'm sorry you lost her. I'm sorry I never got to hold my little brother. I bet he was beautiful. I'm sorry Daddy; so very sorry you know how it feels to lose a child. I would never wish that on anyone, least of all you. If Henry… If anything ever happens Henry… I think I would just forget how to breathe. I don't know how you didn't"

"I couldn't Regina. I couldn't leave you."

"I'm assuming mother never knew. If she had, she would've killed Maggie. Though, probably not for the affair. The child though… Anyone she would've seen as competition against my rise to the throne."

Henry nods. "The other reason I couldn't tell you."

"Don't tell me you actually thought I would tell on you! You kept all my secrets. I would've been happy to return the favor."

"I know. That's why I didn't tell you. Regina, I didn't want you to have to deal with the burden of lying to your mother. No decent parent ever puts their child in that position. I nearly got caught once. If the truth ever came out, I didn't want Cora unleashing her wrath on you."

His daughter's eyes go wide. "When?"

"You were seven. It was the year after we found each other again. Early in the affair. Your mother had taken you off on one of your trips. I don't remember where. You were supposed to be gone for two weeks, but the two of you had some sort of disagreement. As punishment, she brought you back early. I came strolling into the palace expecting to have the place to myself and found you both there. Apparently, you had been for two days. She demanded to know where I'd been, and I didn't have an answer ready yet. I hadn't expected to need one. My guilt must've been all over my face. She threw up her hands in exasperation, and declared, "Oh for heaven's sake Henry I don't care if you're carrying on with the local bar maid… Or whoever she is, but you'd better be discreet about it. If anybody in this kingdom finds out, I will throw your ass in the dungeon and leave you to the centipedes."

Regina laughs dismally. Groaning, she says, "I remember that! I was so young that I didn't know what she meant by 'carrying on.' I remember telling her that if she was going to throw you in a dungeon, I was going with you."

Henry throws back his head and laughs. "Yes, I distinctly remember you telling me not to worry. You wouldn't let the centipedes get me. You hated those things. You were terrified of them. But, I think you would have faced a whole dungeon full of them for your old man."

Regina bobs her chin emphatically; looking like the child he remembers. "I would have. After the week we had, a dungeon full of centipedes sounded like fun. She was in bad mood. She was being mean because she took me to see this artist. She wanted him to paint my portrait. I didn't want to sit still for hours on end, day after day, while some skinny old guy, who smelled funny, painted a picture. She made me put on that dress, she laced my corset too tight. Daddy, it hurt to breathe! Who puts a seven-year-old in a corset? She made me wear heels too; under a skirt too long to see them. And she wouldn't let me take them off. I couldn't walk in those things. Not then. She kept her cool and put up with my whining until I was dumb enough to actually say, 'Daddy wouldn't make me wear this! She dragged me all the way home kicking and screaming because she didn't take me to see the circus and the white tiger like she promised she would."

Henry glances down at his daughter's footwear along with the rest of her attire. "Well, you certainly figured it out."

"Not the point, Daddy!" With a sour face Regina changes the subject abruptly. "I don't know why you didn't just run away with Maggie."

"We talked about it." He admits, and then he repeats his earlier words, "I couldn't leave you. I honestly don't think Cora would have cared if I had left, but there's no way she would've let me leave with you."

"I mean before that Daddy. You should've ran away with her the night you helped her and her father escape."

Chuckling, Henry shakes his head and gently touches her face. "Then I wouldn't even have you. As wretched as Cora is; she gave me you."

Regina swats his shoulder again only to wrap her arms around him once more. "Oh, who cares about that!"

"I do!" he objects boldly.

Somehow, she manages to smile and scowl all at the same time. It's a look her father is familiar with, and he's about to say so when a question forms in her eyes.

"What? What is it, My Girl?"

"No wonder you never wanted to talk about your family. But, there is still one thing I don't understand. If you were the youngest and my grandfather liked Frederick so much better, how did you ever become king?"

Your grandfather and your Uncle Frederick died in some kind of freak carriage accident. The horses ran wild for some unknown reason. I have no proof, but ever since you told me that your mother was responsible for Snow's horse unexpectedly going wild, I have wondered…"

Regina nods gravely. "She did it."

"Now, you don't know that." He says, correcting her gently.

"Do so." She scowls and argues childishly. "You said it yourself. Power hungry harpy. Grandfather gave you to her like you were cattle, like he was bartering a trade. She finally had her prince, but she also had a problem. You were at the bottom of the pile. She fixed it."

"Well, if you ever make it back there, if the kingdom still exists – I'm sure, if it does, it's in total disarray, but it's all yours. You can make that forest-dwelling outlaw of yours into a king."

Regina laughs boldly. "First of all, Robin pretty much goes with the flow. He usually lets me have what I want. But, if I announced that I wanted that… Something tells me he would put his foot down. I don't think he would want that at all. Second, I'm not sure I want to go back. I like life in Storybrooke. I think being mayor is good enough. I have Henry, family and friends, which I'm still getting used to, but it's not terrible… Most of the time. Sure, sometimes they get on my nerves. But, it's not terrible. I also have a very nice house with things like electricity, indoor plumbing, hot and cold running water, and a kitchen where I'm not required to cook over an open flame. Making lasagna at Mourning Dale…" Regina shakes her head. "I don't think I want to try that."

Henry squints. "You cook? What is lasagna exactly?"

Regina shakes her head. "I'm not a very good chef. I just know how to make a few things I like."

"Lasagna being one of them?"

She nods. "It's baked pasta with the zesty meat sauce. I'll make you some when we get back to Storybrooke with a flaky apple turnover for dessert."

He raises an eyebrow. "You're not still poisoning people with apples… Are you?"

She laughs drolly. "if I were, your name wouldn't even be on the list… But no, I stopped doing that when I nearly killed your grandson. He bit into an apple turnover that was meant for Emma. She kissed him. She broke the curse… And here we are. No more poison apples."

He stares at her in amazement. So, you two really have gone from trying to kill each other, to raising that wonderful boy jointly… You really have come quite a long way."

"Tell me about it. Sometimes it seems like it happened yesterday. Other times, it seems that it was so long ago that I should be wearing geriatric support hose and dentures by now."

Her father laughs. "Wait until you're my age!"

 **Chapter 38: You're No Fun!**

When the group returns, and Robin doesn't immediately find Regina in the great room he leaves the others in the kitchen helping themselves to snacks. On the second floor, he pokes his head into open, or partially open doors, but the area's much to still, much too quiet. He doesn't expect too, and he's not in the least bit surprised, when he doesn't find her anywhere on the second floor. He does find one locked door, but he knows her. She doesn't lock doors without a reason.

On the third floor as he steps over the threshold to a well-stocked home library. Upon cursory glance, he misses her. It isn't until his eyes traverse the room for a second time that he catches sight of her nestled between the curtains that surround a cushioned window seat set between two bookcases. The bay window that accompanies the seat overlooks the trees. He finds her there, curled up asleep beneath a throw blanket, an open book resting on the edge of the cushion, and two small red wooden objects protruding from beneath the satin pillow under her head.

He steps across the room and lays a gentle hand against her thigh and waits patiently. Within seconds, her lashes flutter and she offers him a sleepy smile. He moves her book aside and takes its place; perching on the edge of the seat.

"Here you are." He says quietly with a smile.

Regina pushes herself up on one elbow. "You found me." Then she scowls. "So, help me Robin… if you say I will always find you…" She laughs drolly.

Unaware that the air vent in this room is connected to the one downstairs in the kitchen or that their words are overheard, they carry on as if they are alone in the world.

Robin shakes his head; chuckling softly. "It works for them."

Regina yawns and stretches as he continues. "They're always needing to find each other because they're always losing each other. I don't think I could lose you even if I tried; not really. Ninety nine percent of the time I know exactly where you are."

"I'm with you." She says softly.

Nodding; he chuckles again. "Even when you're not. On the exceedingly rare occasion that I don't know where you are, I seem to have a sense of where you aren't. Just by paying attention to that; It never takes me long to find you."

She nods. "I usually know where you are too… Even when I don't."

"Where's your dad?"

"Second floor… Taking a nap."

Robin raises a curious eyebrow. "The man gets brought back to life, and the first thing he wants to do is take a nap?"

Regina swats at his chest playfully. "No, the first thing he wanted to do was talk to his daughter. The nap was second. Apparently, the dead don't sleep. I guess, if you're not alive, you can't get tired. I don't know about after they move on from this place, but they don't sleep here. Remember when he said people here do almost anything to pass the time? He's been awake down here for almost 32 years, so yes, he wanted a nap."

Robin's eyes go wide. "We spend a third of our lives of asleep! Almost 32 years uninterrupted by sleep. Can you imagine?"

"I'm know! The things I could do in life if I never got tired. But, I think it's part of the punishment of being in this place. If you're meant to be here, you can't escape; not even for a few hours. You can't just close your eyes and drift away."

So much for the night owl's adage, "I'll sleep when I'm dead!"

"Tell me about it! I don't think I'm ever going to take sleep for granted again… Or the peace that comes with it." She hangs her head.

Robin crooks a finger under her chin and gently lifts it. "Alright now. None of that. It won't do you any good anyway. Focus your energy on something that is within your control. He's literally been given a new lease on life. First, let's get him home… and then… Then, you can make it the best one possible."

She nods, still looking glum. "I don't know why this happened. I don't deserve this."

Robin shrugs. "I don't think it's about what you deserve. I don't think she did it for you sweetheart; not based on what I heard."

Regina offers him a weak smile that gradually becomes stronger; much more genuine. "She loves him. He loves her. Daddy has someone to love. Somebody besides me."

Does that make it better?"

Regina nods emphatically." I always worried that he was too lonely. A daughter can only do so much… And I was… Kind of a handful."

Robin chuckles. "What you mean; was?" She raises an eyebrow as he continues, "You are kind of a handful!"

Regina thumps him on the chest, playfully shoving him off his narrow perch onto the floor. "Shut up!" she laughs.

He picks himself up along with the items that fell from the cushion with him. Two wooden cutouts from the family tree downstairs; two apples painted bright red and labeled with names he doesn't fully recognize.

Returning to his former place, he settles in with of a look of mild warning, "Push me over again, and next time you're going with me, Your Majesty."

She gives him a sly look, silently telling him that sounds more like an invitation to her than a threat.

"Uh-uh. Don't look at me like that, Regina. Your dad is downstairs trying to sleep. He doesn't need the two of us up here, rolling around on the floor like teenagers in heat."

"You know what your problem is?" She raises a questioning eyebrow.

He grins. "What's my problem, love?"

"You're no fun!" She announces with mock seriousness.

Wholly unconcerned Robin reminds her. "You were singing a different tune a few nights ago."

"That doesn't count." She says dryly.

"Oh really? And why not?"

"Because you gave me liquor. I was drunk!"

Robin throws back his head and laughs. "First, you were not drunk! Secondly, I was not trying to get you drunk. I was trying to close up the hole in your thigh, if you remember. The one you refused any other treatment for. And thirdly, even if you were slightly tipsy, you still knew exactly what you were doing."

"Meh… Okay" She moves around on the cushion, making more room for him.

"That's what I thought!" He kisses her temple. "How is that, by the way? Do I need to clean the stitches?

She shakes her head. "I can reach them. It looks OK. They're not puffy or red. It aches a little every now and again, but it's not too bad. It doesn't itch yet though."

"It will in a few days, once it starts to close up a bit." He pats her lower thigh affectionately, careful to avoid the spot in question. He holds out the two place markers for the family tree. "Marguerite – Maggie, this must be her?"

Regina nods, inhales deeply, and then pushes the same breath out noisily through her nose in a fretful sigh. "I wish they'd been married. That's what Daddy wanted."

"Did he tell you that?"

She nods. "But I think I would've known it even if he hadn't."

Robin shrugs. "Maybe they were… in here." He touches his chest. "Where it matters. Just because it never happened legally, doesn't mean it didn't happen Regina. All you have at the end of an expensive legally recognized wedding is a piece of paper signed by both people. You can toss that piece of paper into a fireplace and watch it burn to ashes. Doesn't invalidate the love. I guess that piece of paper does stand in testament to that love, but she said she's waited for him for nearly 60 years and that she's willing to go on waiting. If you ask me, that is a far greater testament that any piece of paper can ever provide."

"I know. You're right." She makes a disgusted noise. My parents did have that piece of paper… Look how well that turned out!"

"Couldn't have been all bad. Because of them, I have you."

She quietly snorts derisively laughter. "You sound like Daddy. He had a chance to run off with her half a dozen years before I was born. I told him he should have. He said he wouldn't have me, if he had. I said who cares about that?" He said, 'I do!"

"And he does. There's nothing anyone could offer him, Regina. Just like there's nothing you would accept in place of Henry…your son."

She nods. "I know who you meant. I just wish things could have been different for them." She points to the other place marker in his hand. "Daddy never got to hold his son… my brother. We never even got to see him."

As Robin studies the single date present under the name Elijah Mills, Regina is surprised to feel fresh tears brimming in her eyes.

"Hey." Robin says softly as he pulls her into a hug. "They had a baby?"

Regina nods against his shoulder. "Apparently, she and her husband went through several miscarriages. Even her first baby, their daughter, was difficult for Maggie. I don't know where Daddy got the information, maybe from her. It seems, her pregnancy with Elijah was the only one that didn't give her trouble… At least not until the delivery. Maybe her body was just too tired after all the miscarriages. I don't know. Daddy said she slipped away and they thought the baby was fine, until a few minutes later. He just stopped breathing. Daddy thinks Maggie couldn't bear to leave him behind."

Robin sighs heavily and runs his fingers through his hair. "Don't think I would either, if I were in her place. Who was she going to leave the baby with. The husband he didn't belong to? She couldn't very well send him home to his father. I haven't spent a great deal of time with your mother, but…"

"Oh God, you're right! I hadn't thought about it like that." Regina breathes deeply. "Yikes!" She pauses, lost in thought for a moment before she says, "I promise I wouldn't have boiled Zelena's baby. I wouldn't have liked it, at all… But I wouldn't have hurt the baby…. My mother on the other hand…"

"The death of a child is never a good thing. There is no good in it. However, the last thing your family needs is another child who's angry because a parent didn't live up to their expectations."

A quick burst of humorless laughter escapes Regina. "You're certainly right about that! I don't know if her husband knew the truth. If he did, he might've mistreated Elijah. Daddy would've been in an impossible position. Forced to choose between one child or the other. He couldn't have taken both of us and left, which would have been necessary for my brother's safety. Mother never would've let him leave with me. Alone with the baby, maybe… But not with me. There's no way to know what would've happened if he had lived. If Zelena is any indication…" She sighs heavily.

Not to change the subject, but do you really think he is… Sentient?"

"Who, Hades?" She nods dreadfully. "Nobody wants to think about it, but I'm afraid Emma's right. If he were dead, his sperm would be too."

Robin chuckles wryly. "Thank you for not calling it 'stuff.' Emma's well-meaning attempt at discretion only made it seem that much more vulgar. So, that means… What? Zelena restarted his heart? True love's kiss; among villains? Are two villains even capable of loving each other? Or is it all about gratification?"

Regina shrugs. "People call me a villain."

"People called you a villain. Past tense mi'lady. "

"And while I was… Let's just say … Sex was never about love. However, I never wanted anyone as dark as myself. I've never wanted anyone who was even close to having as much darkness as I do. It's hard for me to imagine love can exist in the room with two people filled with that much darkness. Love is selfless. Feeding the darkness is all about self-preservation; even if, in the worst ways possible. You can't be selfless and self-centered all at the same time. It's not possible. Still, pure gratification, as great it can be, that's not enough… Not enough to restart a heart. If she truly loves him, then maybe Zelena is not quite as wicked and she claims to be. There must be some light getting through somewhere. And, I think you should prepare yourself, I can promise you, when we get home, and the town finds out about this shadow casting thing - Because you know they will - there are going to be those, even those who had previously stopped calling me a villain, who will start doing it all over again."

"Bloody foolish people. Point me in their direction. I'd be more than happy to have a conversation. Just because a person is magically ambidextrous does not mean they are bad, evil, or villainous. Your father seems to think you wouldn't have been given the ability if you couldn't be trusted to use it in the best ways possible. And, I for one, I think your father is a very smart man."

Regina smiles, her chest rising and falling with silent laughter. "Magically ambidextrous. I like that. Is that anything like magically delicious?" She laughs at her own silly joke, while Robin squints; with no frame of reference. She offers him a quick kiss and shakes her head before explaining, "It's a commercial for a kid's breakfast cereal. It's called Lucky Charms. There's an image of a leprechaun and a rainbow on the front of the cereal box. The sales pitch is 'They're magically delicious!"

"Ah well, I don't believe in lucky charms, but if I did, you'd be the only one I ever needed. And yes, you certainly are delicious… But back to the subject at hand. Hades is alive; unless you think she still lying about the paternity. I mean, we know she's pregnant."

"I hate to say this, because just thinking about it makes me tired. But yes, I believe he's alive. I also believe it's his child. When she said it was - that wasn't just some fabrication. It was an excited utterance in the heat of the moment. People tend to tell the deepest truths when they're scared, angry, or drunk. She was definitely scared and angry, and before we walked in there, I'm pretty sure she and Hades were a little drunk on each other. Plus, if the child wasn't his, I'm not sure he would be quite so eager to dote on her the way he does. We've said before, he's all about self-preservation. Why risk himself for a woman carrying another man's child? I don't think he would. Surely, he has to know that he would be better off without us here. Surely, by now he's figured it out. But, he hasn't come after us; not really. Not with the full weight of the power at his disposal."

"Okay so, what's his end game? Obviously, he needs us but for what?"

"I don't think it's us he needs." Regina whispers with fear in her voice. "I think it's me."

"You?" Robin queries with an obvious note of discomfort creeping into his own voice.

She nods. "I've had some time to think about this, and none of my thoughts have been good… Not a single one of them Robin. But he did see me exhibit my shadow casting ability."

He's quiet for several beats, then he breathes deeply, squares his shoulders, and says, "Tell me."

"First, Zeus put him down here for a reason. I'm absolutely certain there was anger involved. There's no doubt it was punishment. You don't go after a parent's child without expecting retaliation. That's just stupid! So yes, Zeus was angry, but I think there's more to it. You said yourself, killing him may not be the best solution. Like it or not, the underworld serves the purpose. It gives people with unfinished business somewhere to go. Maybe Zeus's plan was twofold – deal with a problematic brother, and also, with what I'm sure must be a constant stream of souls in a state of unrest. My worst fear, is…" She pauses, hesitant to even voice her thoughts for fear that She will somehow call them into existence. "That tether that holds him here was created by a god. Therefore, it must be stronger than the tether that holds residents here, or even us for that matter. Hades is a god too, but he doesn't have his full power. I know what he wants. He wants to be free of this place. But, someone must be here to oversee this place. The only reason he hasn't started picking you all off one by one may be because he's appeasing me. He can't kill any one of you without hurting either me or my son; which would make me very angry. I'm highly suspicious that perhaps the tether that holds him here works like the Dark One's dagger. Assuming that I even can set him free, do I then take his place. Even if I don't, what happens when I do set him free. He will be able to leave the underworld, but will he have his powers fully restored to him? I do think that's unlikely. Just because I can shadow cast does not make me a god. I don't think I have the ability to restore his power. Not to its full potency at any rate, but even if I can return just a small portion of it - who wants a vengeful god roaming around above ground? I'm pretty sure he could only use magic in Storybrooke, which ultimately means he would make that place look as hellish as this one. What happens to my town? What happens to the people in my town? Or, he's existed down here by living life as a leech. Assuming we both survive such an event, do I become his host until he sucks me dry and then casts me aside like some dried-up husk of a person. Robin, I don't want to die that way, and I sure as hell don't want to live that way. He knows I would never agree to something like this standing in the light, that's why mother tried to take Daddy. He needs me dark. That also may be the reason mother doesn't want me here. Having me dark is one thing. Having her daughter be a living, breathing, power supply for the god of death – if she's ever cared about me… Even just a little bit… That might be pushing it a bit too far, even for her. Or maybe I just want to believe that somewhere deep down inside, she really does care. That's always been my downfall; wanting to believe she cares. I did so many horrible things, just trying to earn her approval, respect, love, or even just her affection Apparently, Zelena has the same problem. I don't know. I feel like I'm standing back at the top by of that slippery slope again. I don't want to make another mistake for the same old reason. I am so tired of making mistakes for that reason. What do you think?

"I think you could be right. It could be any one of those things. If could be none of them. What if the reason he hasn't picked any of us off yet is because your plan is working? What if he's getting weaker?"

"That's still too many what ifs. There are still too many unknowns. We need to turn the tide further still. We need an ally. One with an enormous amount of influence over Hades."

"I can think of one. Can't you?"

Regina raises an eyebrow.

"She stands a bit taller than you. Has a head full of red hair. Between the mood swings, the hormones, and the pregnancy cravings, she's probably driving him mad right about now."

"You're not suggesting I try to turn Zelena? You do realize she's firmly entrenched on the dark side of this equation?"

He shakes his head. "If you go down there, trying to – turn - her like she's an asset, or a double agent, she's going to see right through you. For all your dark faults – you're not a very good liar; my love."

Regina chuckles drolly. "Emma says the same thing."

"I'm suggesting, that you find a way to give her what she wants most."

"What? A mother who loves her, and never abandoned her? We've covered this already Robin. I am not a god."

"She wants to be part of a family Regina. She wants to feel that connection. You've already lost a brother to circumstances beyond your control. Don't lose your sister to the god of all darkness; not if there's something you can do to prevent it. And stop waiting around for him to feel strong enough, or desperate enough, to bring the fight to us. Catch him off guard. Go to him."

"She has waged war against me for months now… all because I went and did something as thoughtless and inconsiderate as being born. I can't just turn a blind eye to that. I can't just drop in on a whim with arms wide open, Robin!"

"Maybe you don't start with open arms and sisterly affection. Maybe you start with …" He pauses to flash his smile. "A bag of greasy onion rings and a cup of coffee."

Regina rolls her eyes and sighs in exasperation. "Do I get to poison them first?"

Robin merely raises an eyebrow.

Getting up, leaving her cozy window seat, Regina stomps across the room. Glancing back over her shoulder, she repeats, "You're no fun!"

 **Chapter 39: Offering Parley**

Amid the hushed and startled whispers of diner patrons, Regina strides up to the counter and says clearly, "I'm going to need two cups of coffee; black, two large orders of onion rings, and a couple of apples; green."

The blind witch inhales deeply, sniffing noisily at the person with a hauntingly familiar voice on the opposite side of the counter. Her thin hand with its bony fingers and gnarled fingernails, too long for practicality, strikes quick as lightning as she puts a vice grip on her murderer's neck. "I heard you were here. Coming in here was a mistake, Regina!"

Regina gasps, more from shock than form any need of oxygen.

Emma shouts her objection. "Hey stop!" She lifts her hands, ready to do battle as she hisses, her next words directed at Regina through clenched teeth. "I told you coming in here was a bad idea!"

Regina lifts the hand that isn't wrapped around the wrist at her throat. She chokes out harshly, "Relax, I got this, Swan!"

"Oh, you got this?" Emma stares at her incredulously.

Before she answers, Regina unleashes a blast of dark magic that sends the blind witch flying backwards and crashing into the order board ten feet behind the counter and eight feet off the ground.

Readjusting her cloak with hostility, Regina offers, "Like I was saying…"

Emma nods; shrugging. "Okay… you got this!"

As the blind witch staggers back to her feet and returns to the counter, Regina helps herself to a barstool. With forced patience, she hisses, "Now, ole blind one, let's try that again, shall we? I need coffee, onion rings, and apples." Despite the fact that the blind woman cannot see her, Regina offers an absolutely chilling, not to mention saccharine, smile.

"How dare you! How dare you come in here and…"

Regina cuts her off, magically introducing her own stranglehold with nothing more than the flick of her wrist.

The witch gasps out; wheezing through her restricted windpipe, "You can't kill me again, Regina. I'm already dead."

Regina sneers. "You're right, honey! I can't kill you again." Still smiling, she whispers, "But I can make the afterlife… Hurt. I can make it hurt very badly. And I will… if you give me one more second's trouble."

"Oh, alright then! Don't get your skivvies in a twist. Coffee; black, rings, and apples; green."

"Now that's more like it." Regina declares with phony encouragement. "The order is not for myself. It's for my sister who happens to be carrying the Dark Lord's child, so, I'll caution you against poison. I don't think Hades would be very happy with you if you caused injury or death to his precious little green bean."

The blind witch pants with nearly carnal glee. "There's going to be a child in the underworld; a living child?"

Regina rolls her eyes and sighs heavily. "Don't break out your best serving platter just yet: and wipe that drool off your chin. Need I remind you so quickly that the child in question will be a demigod; half goddess, half wicked witch. She'll have more power in her tiny green little finger than you ever had in your entire, miserable, wretched body. You decide to snack on her and you will incur the wrath of both her parents."

"You have some nerve, Regina! Kill me, and waltz in here threatening me, and expect me to serve you!"

Regina folds her arms over her chest. "Today, the first move was yours. You lashed out, I was just defending myself. What do you want? An apology? For today? Or for your death? Either way; not gonna happen! You ate children! There are a select few people I may regret killing. I haven't lost a single moment's sleep over you! Deal with it, get over it, and move on, or else I'll be making that crossover and you'll still be down here slinging hash 50 years from now, child muncher!" Regina slaps a $20.00 bill down on the counter. "My order…?" She holds up a hand; dark magic swirling in her palm. "Or do we go for round two?"

Sullenly, the blind witch scuttles off to see to the order.

Twenty minutes later, Regina steps off the freight elevator with Emma at her side and the takeout bag full of diner goodies in her hand. When Regina places her free hand on the ornate and heavy brass knocker on the door to Hades' inner sanctum, Emma breathes quietly. "Are you sure you're ready for this? It is a little like walking into the lion's den."

Regina laughs drolly. "No, it's not. Lions don't scare me." She knocks anyway.

The door opens, and they find a frazzled Hades looking tired and harried. Barely concerned with their presence he grants them entry while obviously on his way elsewhere. "Oh good! You saved me the trouble of summoning you, Regina. We need to talk."

"I'm not here to talk to you. I came to see my sister."

"Fine, fine. You'll have to follow along. She's having a tough day." He says over his shoulder as he steps down a corridor carrying a heavy gold serving tray.

Emma breathes out of the side of her mouth for Regina's ears only as they follow Hades. "Well that was anti-climactic."

"You know, you're even more impatient than I am!" Regina hisses back.

"I'm just ready to go home. I've had it with Operation Firebird."

Regina glares at her. "Shush!"

"Sorry… This place is making me a little grumpy, that's all!"

"So, talk to the one-handed wonder. Something tells me he'd be … useful… when it comes to relieving frustration."

"Ugh! Regina, I am not discussing my sex life with you!"

Regina laughs darkly. "Well, I don't know why not, Swan. You seem to be comfortable discussing anyone else's… Why not your own?"

They step through a wide doorway into a private, lavishly decorated, bedchamber with empire furnishings to find Zelena propped up amid silk and satin and dressed like a pampered inhabitant of Mount Olympus in a flowing white Grecian nightgown decorated with accents of emerald and gold; her red hair aflame against golden and cream-colored bed linens.

"Here we are, my love." Hades sets the tray down on her bedside table and removes the cover over her plate with a flourish; like a maître D trying to impress a prized customer. "I'm sure you'll find something to your liking. Oh…" He glances at her apologetically. "And… I've brought you some visitors."

Zelena glances at the tray and the rich, indulgent, food he offers. Fragrant beef medallions, succulent braised lamb, a leafy green salad with a cold cucumber soup, and a medley of fresh fruit to accompany yet another pot of tea. She snarls, cantankerously, "I don't want any of that, and I certainly don't want to see my sister and her loathsome merry band of goody goodies! And… I'm sick of bloody tea! If you tell me one more time how it will relax and soothe me, I will gouge out your liver… with a butter knife!" Zelena's normally ginger colored head suddenly erupts in a quick flash of bright pink flames.

Before it extinguishes itself, Emma takes two involuntary steps backward pulling Regina along with her. "Whoa!" She whispers. "Regina, your sister's a human tiki torch!"

"Oh, do shut up!" Zelena snaps.

Emma cringes; not having meant to be overheard.

"You try providing life support to the child of a god and see how well you do!" Switching gears abruptly, she whines in an annoyingly high pitched a voice, "Hades will you please tell your daughter to stop that! She's going to fry Mummy's hair!"

"Zelena, my darling, it's only happening because you're so upset. She's responding to you. If you calm down, she will too. Just think how marvelous she's going to be. Barely in her second trimester and already using her powers… that's my little goddess!"

"Ugh! I hate you!" Zelena roars and hurls the full porcelain tea pot at her husband's head.

He vanishes and reappears in place just in time to narrowly miss the teapot that slams against the wall and explodes violently, splattering hot Darjeeling tea all over Emma's bright red jacket."

"Hey, watch it!" Emma protests. " That stuff is hot!"

Zelena crosses her arms over her chest like a pounding child, but growls like a demonic entity "Don't stand so close to my husband, there won't be a bloody problem, Blondie!"

Emma takes three giant steps to her left, trying once again to pull Regina all along with her.

Regina scowls as she carefully extricates her arm from Emma's grasp. "Will you stop tugging on me! And, keep the colorfully inappropriate commentary to yourself! Right now, all of her senses… Including her hearing… are probably amplified."

Zelena whines like a sobbing child. "Yes…" She points an accusing finger aggressively at Hades. "And he says it's going to be this way until the end of the pregnancy. He should've told me that… Before he knocked me up!" Before coming up for air, she is seized by another flash of rage. "I hate him! I hate him! I hate him! I'm miserable, and it's all his fault! I hear everything. All of a sudden, people whisper two blocks away, and I know about it. I see everything, better than I used to. I feel everything! Cotton sheets feel like sandpaper! I smell everything… And just so you all know… This place stinks… Like a rotting cesspool. The only things that smell good are black coffee, spearmint toothpaste, and deep-fried onion rings with ketchup… Somebody has some: by the way. Give them to me! Now!"

Hades shoots Regina a questioning look, eyeing the bag of takeout in her hand while Emma guesstimates the thirty-foot gap between where they stand, and Zelena's nose.

"Part human tiki torch, part bloodhound." She mutters under her breath.

Zelena hurls a steak knife at her and narrowly misses.

Stepping forward and opening the brown paper bag of takeout, Regina reminds Emma quietly, "I would shut up, if I were you. Next time, she might not miss!"

Zelena snatches one of the foil packets of onion rings from her sister's outstretched hand and immediately bites into one with a complete disregard for any sort of table etiquette. She groans with pleasure, and fumbles clumsily with a small plastic bowl shaped container of ketchup topped with foil; her fingers made slippery by the greasy treat.

Regina reaches for it with the intent to be helpful, and her sister smacks her hand violently.

She backs off two steps. "Okay, I was trying to help, but never mind, tear it open with your fangs!" When Zelena glares at her, she points to the bedside table to distract her from continuing her tantrum. "There's coffee too. It's hot, and if you want them, I brought you some apples… The way you like them; green and tart.

Zelena slurps hot coffee, greedily and then she peers into the bag, at the extra packet of onion rings and the two large apples nestled beneath. She eyes her sister suspiciously. "How did you know what I wanted?" She demands as she wipes her mouth roughly, impatiently, on a paper napkin.

Regina shrugs. "I just guessed about the apples. Robin suggested the coffee and the onion rings."

"How the bloody hell would he know?"

Regina shrugs again, this time feeling mildly uncomfortable and shaking her head. "I'm guessing you must've had a taste for them when the two of you were in New York. He notices things like that."

Zelena smiles wickedly, enjoying her sister's distress. "Jealous, Sis?"

"Uncomfortable, yes; but in order for me to be jealous, he would've actually had to have fallen for you. Since the whole calamity was predicated on a colossal lie, that didn't happen. Magic can only do so much… Sis." Regina deliberately returns the phony endearment."

Zelena cocks her head to one side, and stares at her sister curiously. "Why are you here? What do you want? Why are you being nice?"

"Maybe I'm tired of fighting with you."

Zelena shrugs and giggles maniacally. "Too bad!"

"Look Zelena, Cora did us both wrong. She shouldn't have thrown you away. You didn't deserve that! You didn't ask to be born… But neither did I, okay? You want to be mad at someone? Try being mad at her?"

"I think I can manage being angry with both of you quite nicely." She bites into another onion ring ravenously.

"Yes, I'm certain you can. But wouldn't you rather conserve some of your energy for your baby. This isn't going to be easy for you. It's already not easy for you, and you've still got the better part of five months to go if you're just entering your second trimester like Hades says. I can't undo what Cora did to you any more than I can undo what she did to me. I can't undo being born… But maybe… If you let me… I can stop trying not to be your sister."

"I don't need you. I have Hades."

"Yes, it seems you do. He's standing here, putting up with your hormones and your tantrums. He's not even lashing out at you. Obviously, he cares about you. But he's male, and a god, to boot. He has absolutely no idea what it's like to be a mortal female carrying any child; much less the child of god."

"Oh… And you do? Your son is adopted. You didn't give birth to him." She points dismissively at Emma, knowing she will touch a raw nerve. "She did…and he certainly isn't a god!"

"That's true!" Regina deliberately tries to ignore the intended barb. "I didn't give birth to Henry. But I love him no less than you love the child you're carrying… And, I do know what it's like to be a mortal female. Suppose you do make it through the pregnancy, then what? Do you really intend to spend the rest of your life down here with him in this place you call a rotting cesspool? A girl needs more than that. I certainly do. I'm betting you do too. Maybe if we stop fighting each other we could help each other… Or at the very least… We can stop hindering each other."

"I still don't need you. He's trying to get us out of here."

"Zelena!" Hades warns.

"Oh, come off it Hades! You've never thought me stupid before! Don't make that mistake now. You don't honestly think I haven't figured that much out for myself?" Regina laughs venomously. "I know you're holding us here for a reason… In spite of the fact that my sister so obviously wants us gone. And, what's more, I think we're beginning to get to you too. I must say, Hades, you are looking a little ragged. What do you say we put our cards on the table?"

Before another word can be spoken, Cora bursts into the room looking seriously annoyed. She whispers anxiously for the benefit of Hades and all. "I cannot find them; not the outlaw, the boy, her father, or the wolf! They aren't in any of the usual places Regina would hide something!"

"So, check the unusual places!" Hades orders dismissively.

"I have!" Mother glares at daughter. "Where are they? Where have you hidden them? How have you hidden them?"

Regina shrugs. "Come now Mother, you didn't really think I would show up here with Emma in tow; leaving my most precious loved ones alone and unprotected like sitting ducks for you to roast; did you? Please tell me you didn't think that? After all, I am your daughter." She smiles snidely. "I learned at the feet of the master."

 **Chapter 40: Between a Rock & a Hard Place**

With hostility, Cora demands again, "Where are they, Regina?"

"Give it up Mother; I wouldn't tell you, even if I did know."

"You're saying you don't know where they are? You don't really expect me to believe that?"

Regina shrugs. "It really doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. I told them I needed to tuck them away, someplace safe. Snow suggested, given the fact that I was coming here, that it might be best if even I didn't know where they were. She and David went their own way. Robin is leading the rest of them. If he doesn't want to be found, you will not find him."

Cora smiles victoriously as she turns her attention back to Hades. "That tree-hugging desperado is in the woods somewhere. I'll bet my crown on it."

Regina shrugs, wholly unconcerned. "You sure you want to take that gamble, Mother?"

"Enough!" Hades roars. "I have to put up with my wife. She's carrying my child. Because of that, she gets a certain amount of latitude. You two, I can do without. Stop now, or be gone; either under your own power, or under mine."

Cora laughs viciously. "Who are you kidding…"

Regina breathes a quiet warning out of the side of her mouth. "Mother…"

Recklessly, Cora continues. "The power you have is stolen, pilfered like spare change. it is not your own!"

Hades snaps his fingers and Cora is instantly manacled and changed from her fine pantsuit into dingy rags that appear as if they were previously used to line a rat's nest. Before she can offer up the objection burning hotly on her lips, he snaps his fingers again and she vanishes from sight.

Regina stares blandly at the empty space her mother just occupied. When Hades raises a questioning eyebrow, she simply shrugs.

Zelena giggles maniacally, "Do it again, My Love! Do it again!"

"A little patience, Darling. Your sister may still prove to be useful."

Regina drums the fingertips of one hand against her thigh and rolls her eyes. "Look Hades, I'm not trying to be antagonistic, but would you mind if we hurried this along?"

"Goodness Regina. I know why my wife is so impatient, but then, she has a reason to be. What's your excuse? You haven't gone and gotten yourself pregnant too; have you?"

"No. And - at the rate this is going - I never will be! I'm bored. I've never much cared for dancing, so if it's alright with you, can we stop pussyfooting around. Just tell me what you want Hades. So that I can either help; or tell you to go to Hell."

Hades laughs. "You've never been one for standing around doing nothing, and you've always been direct. I've always admired that about you, Regina."

She rolls her wrist in the air; a gesture that implies, "Get on with it." as she says, "I'm not here seeking your approval. What… Do… You… Want…"

"First things first. The population has shifted slightly. More precisely, the population has shifted by one. He glances over his shoulder, pointing as he does at an ornate, complex, yet antiquated, abacus that suddenly appears in an out of the way corner of his wife's bedchamber. The clock did not tick signifying the departure of a wretched soul now at either rest or torment. Yet, I have one less. Additionally, I seem to have gained one living soul. There is only one way this could be possible. Whom have you resurrected, Regina?"

"I have resurrected no one. That is not within my power… and you know it."

"Ahh, but I'm quite certain you know whom I speak of."

Regina shrugs. "Am I to assume that means that you are unable to keep meticulously detailed records of every soul down here in this forsaken place."

"I was able to before your arrival. You, and your merry little band of helpers, have made it necessary for me to divert power to other places. You may not have been personally responsible. There are an excruciatingly few beings who can grant resurrection. My brother is one of them. Is this…" He gestures toward her dark attire. "Is this all an act? Are you in league with Zeus?"

Regina laughs freely." I assure you I have had no contact with Zeus. And if he is working in league with anyone, I hardly think the Evil Queen would be his chosen candidate."

"Yes, but the ability to shadow cast is not given to just anyone. It is a highly-coveted gift; even amongst the lesser gods. It's typically only given to those whom it is believed will not abuse the ability. Those that do pay a horrendous penalty. I know you can do it. You gave yourself away earlier this week. I just can't figure out why you of all people would be granted such raw, unchecked power… Unless someone is indebted to you. Is my brother, or anyone else with the ability to grant such a gift, repaying a debt, Regina? Have you come on someone else's dime? Someone else's behalf?"

"I just came for the thief. My traveling companions came for the both of us. Let us go home and we will leave you in peace – or as close to peace you can get - Robin was only chasing after Zelena because she lied to him. He believed your child was his. But you already know that. You allowed it to be believed, which is why I'm still not certain you didn't pull us down here on purpose."

He shakes his head. "I was only after Zelena. You imprisoned her. I could not allow my child to be born in such squalid conditions as that miserable little cell you had her in. I underestimated the outlaw. He's got more fortitude than I thought. I did not think a mortal man would risk facing my wrath for a woman."

"First, it's more than just fortitude. It's honor. He didn't know it was you he'd be facing, and he wasn't chasing a woman. He was chasing a child he was misled to believe was his. In his mind, a man who doesn't live up to his responsibilities is a man without honor. He was only trying to do what he thought right. I'm guessing you underestimated him because you either don't know what the right thing is… or you don't care. As it's not his child, we have no further business here. Allow my party to leave, and we will be gone with no further damage done to you or your power reserve."

"Yes, you may not personally be able to resurrect people, but you have figured out how to tap into my reserve – something very few practitioners are strong enough to do - and you've had a great deal of fun at my expense. So much so that it will take me several months to restock. Unfortunately, I do not have several months. At first, I kept you down here because I wanted out, and I thought, what with the shadow casting ability that you so clumsily displayed, that you might be useful. Now, it's more than a matter of want. I need out… And you're going to help me. Refuse, and you can stay down here until you rot… or until you and I kill each other. Whichever comes first."

Coolly Regina queries, "You need out. Tell me why."

He nods approvingly. "Good, you're not going to lose your head. Perhaps, we can be of service to each other after all. I had hoped that Zelena would have an easier time of it. However, these symptoms that she's currently experiencing – the heightened senses, the extreme mood swings, the baby tapping into and utilizing her own powers this early in the pregnancy - these things don't usually happen until about the seventh or eighth month. If it's this hard for Zelena now, I shudder to think what it will be like when she nears her due date. Regina, this is not something I would ordinarily admit... and I will only caution you once not to use this admission against me…"

Hades pauses dramatically. "I need your help. I do not want to lose my wife… or my child. I need to be able to take her some place without magic. Some place where my daughter's abilities can be controlled until after she is born. Because she is part goddess, she's too powerful to be overridden completely by the cuff you put on my wife's wrist. It is, however, restraining her. As she grows, I fear the cuff will become useless."

Regina squints and then shrugs. "This is not a problem. Most of our world is without magic. Storybrooke is the only place truly infused with it, because Storybrooke was created by it. Zelena can go almost anywhere in our world. Name the place. I would be happy to personally escort her anywhere you like."

"I must be allowed to go with her. I will not miss the birth of my daughter. I felt her kick last night."

The dark god pauses trying to work his way around the thick knot of emotion that rises in his throat.

"I will do whatever is necessary to remain a part of her life."

At first, Regina shakes her head, but before the act is complete something he said falls into place in her mind. "You will do whatever is necessary? Are you quite certain of that?"

"Yes, of course." Hades answers without hesitation.

"You want to be… If I understand correctly… Allowed to go to a place with no magic and reside with your wife until after such time as your child is born."

"You understand correctly."

Have you considered the fact that, if you do this, you – yourself - will be completely powerless. You will have no access to magic; not even other people's magic."

"I have." Hades says simply as he paces, hands clasped behind his back, while he waits for her answer.

Regina stares incredulously. "You're telling me that you are willing to surrender your love of dark power… You, Lord Death, are intrinsically willing to become mortal, and risk the perils of being mortal, to attend the birth of a child?"

Hades stops pacing and looks Regina in the eye. "Would you do less for your child?"

Regina glances at Emma, and Emma simply shrugs. Next, Regina looks to her sister, who snaps rudely, "Don't look at me. I don't want him to do this! It's too big a risk. I say, I'll be fine."

"And what if you're not… Or okay, I'll humor you for a second. What if you're perfectly fine? What if, you carry to term without serious life-threatening complications. Have you seen the hospital down here? Even the typical birth when everything goes right is not one I would want to deal with in that fallout shelter he calls a hospital. You're barely over three months. Already you're having problems."

Regina holds up a hand when Zelena shakes her head trying to object.

"You're having major problems Zelena. Your head caught fire less than ten minutes ago! Trust me when I tell you that is not a symptom of a normal pregnancy. You don't think things are going to get worse before they get better? Come on Zelena! You're a lot of things, Greenie. Stupid, is not one of them. You're got 30-plus years of rage brewing because you weren't treated right by our mother. Well, I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do about that!"

Regina grits her teeth; hating the fact that she knows she's going to come off sounding like some warped version of Snow White. "Be the change you want to see in the world. Be a better mother to your daughter than our mother was to us. Put her first! Give her what you didn't have. Give her what you should've had! Set aside your own selfish desires; for love, for vengeance, for whatever else it is you want. For now: put it all on the back burner. Do what is best for her!"

Suddenly, Zelena looks sullen and scared. "You say that like I have any idea what that might be. No one ever taught me how to be a mother!"

Regina laughs boldly. "I've got news for you Greenie. No one ever taught me either. I had to figure it out on my own. Henry's had more than his fair share of suffering because of that."

"So." Zelena rubs a baby bump that is still barely noticeable; still nearly nonexistent. "What the bloody hell am I supposed to do?"

"Well, first, stop talking like that. Once those ears develop, they can hear inside the womb. I don't care what anyone says, that kind of language is not cute when it comes out of the mouth of a child. Secondly, whether she raised you or not; you are the daughter of a queen. Try acting like one. A little grace, a little decorum, goes a long way. Thirdly, at some point in the future, whether it's five minutes from now or five years from now, your child is going to do something that will have to be addressed. When that happens, and you find yourself at a loss for how to respond, think about what our mother would do, and then turn and do the exact opposite. That won't fix every problem, but it usually serves me well when it comes to parenting. After you do that, if you're still stuck…" Regina pauses to gesture first between herself and Emma, and then, between Zelena and Hades. "Talk to the person who shares the responsibility with you. Try to present a united front whenever possible; even if you don't agree with each other."

Emma nods. "Don't let the kid play one parent against the other. That's just bad for business."

Regina nods as well. "And right now, you are letting this child play you, one against the other. Hades wants to leave for the child. You want him to stay here, for your own selfish reasons. Because he gives you something you've probably never had before. But, here's the kicker, you're a mother, and if you hope to be a better mother to your child than our mother was to you… You must realize something, Zelena." Regina looks her sister in the eye. "It's not about you anymore."

Regina falls silent waiting for someone else to speak. When no one speaks immediately, she paces nervously, restlessly, her mind wrestling with the conundrum before them. After two full minutes of silence, she speaks again.

"I will get you out of here. I will take you someplace safe where you can wait for the birth of your daughter without magical complications. If you want me to do this… You have to stop trying to sabotage me. I cannot help you if you're working against me. It's your choice Zelena. This can either be about your daughter; my niece, or this can be about your ridiculous misappropriated hatred of me. It cannot be about both. Choose. Right now! Your daughter, or vengeance… And if you choose the latter over the former, you are no better than the woman who left you in a basket in the woods."

Regina raises an eyebrow; waiting for an answer. When one is not immediately forthcoming, she allows Zelena another moment to consider her options. As she's doing so, she turns on her heel and gives Hades a hard look. "Is it possible to talk to your brother without applying for a permanent change of address?"

"Zeus?"

Regina scowls. "Unless you have some other brother, one I don't know anything about, whose child you killed. Can I talk to him without irrevocably separating my body from my soul?"

Hades' eyes go wide. "What? You want a day pass? You want to talk to Zeus! You, Regina Mills, Evil Queen, actually want to stand in the presence of the God of Mount Olympus?"

"Honestly no, Hades, I don't. However, you've got me between a rock and a hard place. Assuming I can do it - if I can untie the tie that binds you to the underworld, he's going to be pissed at me; now isn't he? And just to be clear, I wouldn't blame him. You killed his son! But, if I have the power, and I don't let you out of here, you're going to be pissed at me! No matter which option I choose, I'm going to have an angry deity on my hands! So, yeah! If I'm going to put myself in this kind of hot water, I want to talk to the guy, assuming I can actually do so without dying first!"

Regina looks at Emma. Unspoken communication passing between the two women. Emma looks at Regina and shrugs agreeably; although not without obvious trepidation.

Zelena starts to speak, but before she can fully form a single word, Hades raises an eyebrow and snaps his fingers, saying in farewell, "Just remember, you asked for this."

Emma jumps, startled beyond words, her mouth dropping open, when Regina simply vanishes from sight.

 **Chapter 41: The Mystery of Olympus**

"Over there! Maggie, she's over there!" A dark haired, dark eyed, woman in a silken purple cloak whispers and points excitedly. "Quick! Grab her!"

Marguerite Darrington looks around anxiously. Realizing, she's too far away to be effective, her eyes go wide with mild exasperation. "Eli, to your left, my boy… Black leather, heels, corset; don't let her slip away in the crowd."

Meanwhile, unaware that she is the center of anyone's attention, Regina turns aimlessly in the midst of the crowded reception hall. "Damn Hades!" She curses silently. "Give a girl some warning, or at the very least, the chance to dress appropriately. Pack for the trip! Something!"

She expected… Actually, Regina doesn't know what she expected. Greek columns? Endless corridors, with ethereal white light at both ends? Heavy fog or mist? Streets paved in gold? But one thing's for certain, she hadn't expected Mount Olympus' version of a reception area that is somehow a cross between Grand Central Station and intake at Ellis island.

The place is teeming with activity. People are everywhere; for as far as she can see in all directions. Some of them are dressed like denizens of the Enchanted Forest. Some of them wear elaborate versions of togas. Still others wear clothes that obviously came from her world. An attractive man who looks like he's just stepped out of the 1950s brushes past her briskly on his way elsewhere. He wears a three-piece suit, two-tone wingtips, and when he narrowly avoids stepping on her foot in the midst of all the chaos, he smiles apologetically and tips his fedora. "Pardon me, Ma'am. My apologies." He's gone before she can reply. Not gone as in, he slipped into the crowd; but rather, gone as in, he simply vanishes from sight. Still others, are dressed in foreign ways that she has never encountered before.

A young woman outfitted in a gauzy yellow dress reminiscent of fairies and wood nymphs prances by, humming merrily to herself. Without a word, she hands Regina a small bouquet of blue irises and yellow jonquils and flits away before Regina can hand them back. Sighing in uncertainty and mild discomfort, she frowns at her own attire. No matter what they wear, everyone here is dressed in their finest. Silks and satins abound. She attempts to magically change her clothing and is mildly alarmed when nothing happens.

"Great!" She mutters under her breath. "I have no magic here. Assuming I survive, I'm going to kill Hades, or at the very least, use his own hair to set the rest of his body on fire!"

Turning a full circle, with nothing more than intuition to guide her, she chooses a direction but doesn't make it more than three steps before an olive complexed young man, who appears to be in his mid-twenties, steps in close and takes her gently by the elbow. "Welcome to Olympus, Regina. Come with me, if you please."

Regina pulls away from the man suspiciously. "Unhand me!" She demands quietly.

He complies instantly and stands waiting, patiently.

"I'm not going anywhere with you! I don't know who you a…" She stops; staring, mesmerized by his eyes. She knows those eyes. Knows them exceptionally well.

Regina points and whispers hoarsely. "You. You're…" She nods, more convinced of her own private thoughts by the second. "You have to be…" She stammers as the two women approach quietly, cautiously; trying not to startle her.

"I am Elijah, your brother, but I believe you already knew that." He smiles warmly.

Regina stares in wonder. "You have Daddy's eyes."

He laughs heartily. "So, my mother tells me… On a regular basis."

"Believe her. It's a bit strange to see those eyes in another face. Strange… and wonderful."

"Ahh good, then I haven't completely unnerved you?"

Shaking her head, Regina smiles brightly. "No… You startled me at first, but that is due as much to my unfamiliar surroundings as it is to your resemblance to Daddy."

Regina glances at the familiar woman in green first. "Maggie? Ms. Darrington." She corrects herself. "I'm sorry. I don't know you're married name."

"There's no need to apologize, Dear. I never took my husband's name, and Maggie is just fine. I've never been a fan of stiff propriety. She gestures toward the two people with her. "We've come to help smooth your way. The first thing we must do is supply you with some proper clothes. No one sees Zeus dressed…"

"As you are." The woman in purple supplies gentle words as she removes her hood and reveals her face.

Regina doesn't mean to, but she can't help taking an involuntary step backward. It's like looking in a mirror. One that has been magically imbued with age progression capability. Seemingly 40 years older, the face that stares back at her, is her own.

She shakes her head as if trying to clear her mind. "I don't understand."

"Don't be afraid. No one here will harm you."

The woman in purple smiles and waves a hand. Instantly, Regina finds herself clad in a simple lavender satin sheath of a dress, one that graces every curve, and will trail gloriously out behind her as she moves. She touches her hair self-consciously and realizes, without the convenience of a mirror that, that too, has been seen to.

She studies the older version of herself. "Who… No, you can't be. That doesn't make any sense." Regina corrects herself irritably. "Are you? You must be a relative? Are you… Norah? Or, maybe a descendant of hers?"

The elderly woman smiles. "Indeed, I am Norah; your great grandmother several generations removed."

Regina caresses the soft material of her new attire graciously. "Thank you for this… and …you have magic here?"

"Yes, but do not be uneasy. Yours will be returned to you once you leave. New arrivals are not permitted the use of magic. Particularly those who are still in possession of their bodies. It's not meant to frighten you. it's just a precaution. Magic is a bit more potent here. People who are unprepared for that difference have a tendency to unintentionally set things on fire, cause explosions, dismemberment, and the like."

"But, no one here can be hurt, can they?"

"Very few of them can. Presently, you are one among those few."

Regina nods, catching on. "Because I'm here with my body."

"Right. Come, let us walk. The less time you are here the better."

Sensing no further cause for alarm, Regina accepts both the arms of her grandmother and her brother; positioning herself between the two of them as Norah continues to talk and, with an encouraging smile, Maggie beckons; leading the way.

"And even though no harm can come to most of us, and any injury is painless and correctable, the immediate result is still …unpleasant to behold. Zeus tends to frown on things that, under ordinary circumstances, would draw blood and guts. You understand; decapitations, other acts of violence. Seeing such things tends to put him in a bad mood. We try not to do that whenever possible."

"I don't blame you." Regina laughs drolly. "I wouldn't want him in a bad mood either. Hades gave me the impression that coming here might be… A fool's errand."

"On the contrary, Darling." Maggie glances over her shoulder. "That was nothing more than a scare tactic. Zeus is the only being, god or human, that Hades is afraid of, and that is because he's very stupid for an immortal. If he hadn't incurred his brother's wrath, he would have nothing to fear from Zeus. Likewise, there are plenty of other beings he should be afraid of. Yourself being one of them. However, Hades believes too much in his own supremacy. Hubris is attractive on no one. Regina, you've nothing to fear from Zeus, unless you've come here to antagonize him. Respect him and that respect will be returned to you."

Maggie opens a large, heavy door. She steps out onto a sun-drenched terrace surrounded by a breathtaking botanical garden that must contain every flower, shrub, tree, and plant imaginable. The fragrances that greet Regina are nothing short of miraculous.

Thinking they will follow the path laid out as her feet, she is surprised when a slender man who is no more than 4 inches taller than her approaches wearing a simple understated robe of cream colored silk and bows slightly as he offers his hand.

Taking the hand offered, she bows slightly herself, in a show of propriety and respect and then glances back, confused when the rest of her party steps away.

Her brother smiles, pulling the door closed once more behind him. "We will be here when you're done."

The man at her side offers his arm. "Walk with me?"

With nothing else to do, Regina accepts and falls into step with him.

He lets her ponder her own private thoughts for three long minutes before he encourages, "I understand you wanted to speak with me."

At a complete loss, Regina stops; coming to a complete standstill." She turns to face him and stares; caught somewhere between incredulity, mild embarrassment, and doubt. "Zeus?" She blurts with blatant curiosity.

"Regina?" He counters with a milder form of the same curiosity.

"Forgive me. I've made a mistake." She recovers quickly, squares her shoulders and corrects her posture; standing up a bit straighter.

"Oh? What mistakes have you made?"

I did not know what to expect. I assumed incorrectly, that you sir, were the equivalent of a palace squire, come to lead me the rest of the way. My apologies."

Zeus throws back his head and laughs boldly. "Well, at least that's a new one. People usually just tell me they were expecting someone taller."

Regina offers the slightest of smiles. "I suspect they're just being polite. What they're really thinking is probably that they were expecting someone a bit more grandiose."

"I expect you're quite right. In fact, I'm certain of it, but no matter. I understand my brother has you in a bit of a bind."

Emma stomps through the woods of Storybrooke in a huff. As she approaches the place where her parents use to meet in secret before the first curse broke, they rise to their feet, the two of them sitting side by side with their arms around one another on a fallen log.

Grumbling, mostly to herself, but not caring if anyone hears, Emma hisses. "That miserable little…."

"Who; Hades?" her mother inquires, looking around. "Where's Regina? You're not supposed to be by yourself. Neither should she. No one should. Not here."

"Yeah well, she is by herself, and I have no idea what's happening, and I don't like it. I do not like it one little bit."

Mary Margaret immediately picks up her bow; intending to set out. "She's by herself with Hades?" She glances over her shoulder. "Come on David. What are you waiting for? Regina's in trouble. Let's go!"

Emma shakes her head. "She's not with Hades. Not anymore. And, he threw me out. The miserable bastard… threw me out!"

"Hang on! Calm down. For a minute, let's just breathe. If she's not with Hades, where is she?'

Emma paces in a tight circle. "Olympus… I hope!"

"Oh okay… Hey wait… Not Okay! Olympus; as in Mount Olympus? What? She go to have tea with the Titans?"

Emma stops pacing and turns to face her parents with her hands on her hips. Shouting, she declares hotly, "Hades finally played his hand! Regina was right! He wants out of here. He wants her to let him out of here. He thinks she's strong enough because of the shadow casting. He also asked her how she came to be in possession of such a gift. He wants to know if the ability was payment for some kind of debt. He asked her if she's working for Zeus. He told as if she doesn't help him, we can all stay here and rot. He needs out of here because he doesn't have enough power to get out on his own and Zelena needs to go someplace without magic because the baby is too much for her. He wants to go someplace where he can restrict the baby's power until after she's born. He doesn't want to lose Zelena or his child. He says… He's willing to give up his power. He says… He's willing to be mortal for the chance to witness his daughter's birth. Regina said she was between a rock and a hard place - which is putting it mildly! She lets him out of here, Zeus is gonna be one pissed off Olympian! She doesn't let Hades out of here, Lord Death is probably going to punch her ticket before her time. Regina told him that if she was going to put herself in harm's way no matter which way she chose, then she at least wanted to talk to Zeus first. So, what did Hades do? He just snapped his fingers… And poof… She was gone. No warning… no, have a nice trip… no, I'd turn back if I were you… Just gone. Then, they threw me out. And now, I have to go tell my son and his mother's boyfriend that I lost her! Just in case it's not already blatantly obvious… I do not like that rotten, good for nothing, little son of a…"

Emma kicks a tree trunk; growling in frustration.

David and Mary Margaret glance at each other. At length, Mary Margaret says, "Okay, come on, let's get this over with.

"Wait, stop. I don't feel like another hike through the woods. Just tell me where they are, I can take you both."

Emma takes one of each of their hands. "Hold onto each other and don't let go. Where are they?"

"Regina's place."

Emma squints. "The apple barn, or the vault? Why would Robin hide them there? Those are the first two places Cora would look. Then, the Mayor's office."

"No. Not Robin and Regina's place… Regina's place. You know, the mayor's house. Down here it belongs to Cora. If you were looking for someone who was hiding from you, and you had this whole hellish town to scour, would you bother looking inside your own house?"

Emma shakes her head in blatant astonishment. "Oh, ho ho, the honorable outlaw broke into Cora's house? Well…he has a set on him; doesn't he? If she finds out about this, Cora is going to be one hot mama, and if she survives her rendezvous with Zeus, Regina is going to laugh her ass off!"

Four hours later, having received word of his fiancée's whereabouts, Robin paces restlessly inside the palatial living room that by rights, belongs to the woman he loves. Aware that he's making the others in the group nervous, he tries to sit. But it's no use, he feels like a caged beast. Movement is the only thing that seems to soothe his frazzled nerves.

Mere seconds after he resumes pacing, there is a brilliant flash of white light so pure in its intensity that they duck and shield their eyes until it dims. When it does, Robin finds her standing in the center of the room wearing a beautiful lavender gown; one she did not leave in, and she's in the company of no stranger. Or, at least, he's not a stranger to Robin. He says not a word. He simply snaps his fingers and several feet away, in the dining alcove, the table is instantly laid with a feast fit for royalty. He acknowledges Robin the slightest of nods, bows like a humble servant, snaps his fingers again and vanishes.

While the others stare, momentarily frozen in place, Robin rushes forward and wraps Regina when a warm welcoming embrace. He kisses the top of her head and holds her tightly for a moment before backing up just enough to search her eyes.

She certainly doesn't look worried, or scared, or hurt… She looks happy, at peace… Although, maybe just a bit dazed; as if she has witnessed something breathtaking that radically defies all logic. Robin remembers that look. It was on his own face, reflected back to him, after what he knows must've been a similar experience. Though he feels he knows the answers. He asks the questions anyway "Where have you been? Do you have any idea how long you've been gone? I was half out of my mind! Are you okay? Are you hurt? What did they do to you?"

Regina smiles and kisses him tenderly. With joyous tears pooling in her eyes, she concentrates on answering his questions in the right order. "Mount Olympus. No, I don't know how long I've been gone. I'm sorry I worried you."

She looks around briefly at the faces of her friends. "All of you."

She returns the bulk of her attention back to Robin. "I got to meet some important people, and I guess I stayed longer than I realized. I'm perfectly fine. No one hurt me. No one did anything to me."

Needing a bit more assurance, Hook inquires, "Who was that man? Can he be trusted, and most importantly of all, can his food be trusted… Because, I'm bloody starving!"

Robin answers confidently, "Eat all you like. It's safe." While Regina nods in agreement with him and laughs. "Hook, that was not a man. That was a god. The way a god is supposed to be."

Already in the know, Robin picks up where she left off. "That was Zeus."

Mentally aware of the shocked looks on their friend's faces, even while her gaze never leaves Robin's, Regina adds, "Aside from offering a deal to get us all home safely, Zeus told me things." She lowers her voice slightly. "Not the least of which was about you." She touches Robin's face affectionately.

"He told me so many things, Robin… So many things that I've tried to guard against saying or tried to avoid telling you because, hearing other people's stories about the woman who used to be known as the Evil Queen, and hearing all of it confirmed, firsthand… Well, that's two different things. I was afraid. I was afraid that if you knew. Really knew the worst of it, you wouldn't want me anymore. And all the while, you've known. You've known everything, How could you? How could you love me?"

He smiles softly and kisses away the teardrop that escapes her lashes. "How could I not?"

"But Robin…"

He shakes his head; laying a tender finger to her lips. "But nothing. We can talk about us later. Preferably some place without an audience. For now," He kisses her temple." Tell us all about this deal. How are we going to get home? And, what's it going to cost us?"

 **Chapter 42: At the Request of a God**

As they gather around the table, each of them choosing a seat, Regina takes a moment to hug both her son and her father. She pulls out the chair at the head of the table for the older of the two. The younger takes one of the seats nearest him, or at least he starts to before Regina says quietly, "Run upstairs to your room. See if you can find one of your sketch pads for me."

Young Henry raises a curious eyebrow, but nods agreeably and trots away to do as he's told with a quiet, "Be right back."

While he's gone, Regina takes the seat at the opposite end of the table, with Robin to her immediate right and Mary Margaret in the seat at her left.

They all settle in, adjusting napkins, plates and glasses to their own liking and they begin to survey the meal before them.

Ruby is the first to speak up. "There's enough food here for a small army."

Regina offers a slight smile and lifts one shoulder in a shrug. "Maybe that's what we are. A small army. Zeus's foot soldiers."

Hook raises an incredulous eyebrow. "The man has an entire legion of gods at his command."

"Regina shrugs again and stretches her eyes wide. "Not down here he doesn't." She sighs under the weight of her next words. "it's going to be us, or no one."

Ruby helps herself to a serving of perfectly prepared roast with all the usual trimmings. "He bowed. Why would a god bow before us?"

Regina smiles quietly, at Robin and he gently takes her hand in his before answering. "You cannot teach people humility - you cannot teach people to be humble in the presence of greatness by holding yourself above them."

Mary Margaret smiles serenely, "What's he like? What's Olympus like?"

"Zeus is … magnetic." Regina shrugs when several people around the table squint in response to her choice of word. "He draws people in; pulls them to him."

Emma laughs. "Uh oh, better look out Robin! That sounds to me like a discreet way of saying your fiancée has the hots for a god. We already know she has a thing for the good guys. Especially the ones who have a … certain disregard for the rules."

Regina laughs wryly. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I see it in him. Whatever it is that attracts a woman to a man, he's definitely got it. In spades. It's oozing out of his pores. He really, really likes women! He's had more than 20 lovers, and those are just the ones that are known about. Apparently, the desire to plant seed in fertile, but mortal, ground runs in the family. A number of, though not all of. his consorts are known to be mortal. He's married to his own sister. And even people who wouldn't dare to set foot on Olympus have heard tale of Hera, and her little problem with jealousy. He loves her. Maybe that's why he has zero control over her. She does terrible, unimaginable, things to his lovers. He may have somewhere between forty and fifty children. He'd need a town the size of Storybrooke just to provide shelter for all his grandchildren. I like the man. Actually; I like him a great deal, but I'm not itching to be one of more than twenty, and I'm certainly not interested in being stepmother to fifty. Plus, I have enough family to deal with the right here in this room. I'm not about to take on Hera, and her little problem with the green-eyed monster. He officially welcomed me to the family as his sister-in-law. There may have been a little harmless flirting…" Regina shakes her head. "But uh uh! That's as far as it goes. I would rather be the one woman in a moral man's life, than be one of dozens in a god's life. Hera, and the rest of his harem, can have him. I'm quite happy right here beside this one. She squeezes Robin's hand affectionately, before continuing.

"Olympus is…" Regina pauses, yet again, trying to choose the right words and knowing before she speaks that she will not do it justice.

"Olympus is unfathomable! It's one of those places you just have to see for yourself. It's commonplace, yet extraordinary in its simple divinity. Though, I'm not sure everybody sees the same thing i did when they arrive there. I don't know. Maybe Olympus is subjective. You know? In the eye of the beholder. The first place I arrived…"

She pauses as Henry returns, and quietly places a sketch pad, a freshly sharpened pencil, and a box of charcoal beside her plate. Regina waits until he is seated next to her father at the other end of the table. Only when her son smiles encouragingly, does she continue. "I arrived in some sort of reception area. It was massive. There were hordes of people in every direction; as far as I could see. People in different styles of clothing, people from different worlds, and different realms, people from different eras, people from places the I'm certain I've never been and never will be - and everyone was dressed to the nines; as if they had just stepped, carefree and unharmed, out of the grand dining hall aboard the Titanic."

Instead of preparing her plate, as she talks, she picks up the sketch pad at her elbow, flips it open, and helps herself to a piece of charcoal. She sketches something quickly, she surveys her own work, and then, unhappy with what she has, she rips out the page, rolls it into a tight ball, and starts anew.

"There I was, in the middle of this unbelievably crowded and unimaginably colossal… place obviously very inappropriately dressed, with absolutely no idea what to do about it, or anything else, for that matter. I tried changing clothes, magically, and discovered I had no magic. That made me extremely nervous. I was alone up there and unarmed. I had no idea what to expect next. Some guy who looked like he belonged in a 1950's law firm from our world, almost stepped on my foot and when he apologized, he tipped his fedora and called me Ma'am. He reminded me of Gregory Peck playing Atticus Finch in the movie adaptation of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Some sprightly little thing gave me flowers and then frolicked away before I could refuse them. She didn't say a word, just handed me flowers and vanished into the crowd. With nothing else to do, I picked a direction and started walking. I made almost no progress before I found … friends. People who said they had come to smooth my way."

She stops talking for a few seconds and she focuses on her artwork. When Robin tries to peer at whatever it is that she's so intently focused on, she pulls the sketch pad in close; shielding her work from view.

When he backs off, she offers him a smile of gratitude and continues both the conversation, and her sketching. "They startled me at first." She offers her father a sweet smile. "Maggie was the only one I recognized right away. Between the three of them, they changed my clothes and got me to where I needed to be. After my visit with Zeus… Which didn't take as long as I thought it would, they were waiting for me. We spent a little time together before Zeus was kind enough to escort me back."

Even though others are listening, Regina addresses her next comment strictly to her father. "That quaint little cottage you wanted to be lord and master of with Maggie at your side… It's there, Daddy; on Mount Olympus. It's waiting for you, and so is she. They'll be there; when you're ready."

He smiles and raises a curious eyebrow before clearing his throat. "You've seen it?"

"Seen it? I have sat at your table and drank wine with Maggie, my great grandmother, and my brother."

When his eyes go wide, she pushes her chair back and goes to him; sketch pad in hand. Placing it in his outstretched hand, she hugs him from behind and leans over his shoulder as he stares at a roughly drawn, but impressively lifelike, portrait of his son. When his breath catches in his throat, she kisses his cheek and whispers affectionately. 'I'll fill it in later… Make it better."

The old king shakes his head as his eye brim with unshed tears. "You won't touch it. It's perfect the way it is."

She pats his shoulder. "He says to tell you to stop worrying about him. He says he grew up in the best place possible. Although he was slightly aggrieved when he admitted that Maggie tried to stall him as much as she could. Apparently, she kept him at about eight years old for a good long while until he firmly announced one Tuesday afternoon that he was 'tired of being a little boy. It wasn't fun anymore. It was boring… And she ought to let him grow up just a little bit.' I told him I wish I could do the same thing with Henry. He just smiled and shook his head and mumbled 'mothers' under his breath. At which point, Maggie lovingly smacked him on the back of the head. They were quite comical about it. Judging by the look on his face when she did it, I'd say it's not the first time he's been smacked about the head. He looks to be about twenty-five, which I suppose is accurate enough considering that time stood still for the rest of us for nearly thirty years… And he hugs like you do, Daddy. He waits for the other person to let go first."

Henry smiles with parental pride. "He has her mouth."

Regina nods, chuckling as she returns to her seat where she finds both Mary Margaret and Robin in the process of preparing a plate for her. "Yes, he has her chin… Her jaw line really… Above the nose, he's all you. But his mouth belongs to her, and the tongue residing in it is heavily influenced by her own. He is slightly more sedate than she. He is just a bit less free-spirited - I guess 'grounded' is a good word for it. However, neither one of them waits to be asked before they tell you what's on their mind."

Henry laughs boldly. "I'm not surprised. Maggie never did wait to be asked." He smiles at his daughter. "Tell me more later?" He inquires softly.

Regina nods in gentle agreement before turning the bulk of her attention to Mary Margaret. "I met Norah."

"The light mage at the top your mother's family tree?"

Regina nods with obvious wonder. She sighs deeply with contentment before admitting, "It was spooky!"

Mary Margaret wrinkles her brow. "Meeting one of your great grandmothers was spooky? I don't understand. If memory serves me correctly, and I know it does, she was the only one listed on the entire parchment who could practice light magic… Until you. Why should she be spooky?"

"Because she looks just like me… No don't wave the comment aside thinking that a lot of family members resemble each other. She really looks like me. Only older… By about forty years. It was like looking in some weird funhouse mirror."

Mary Margaret smiles and pats Regina's hand. "In that case, she doesn't look like you. You look like her."

Shaking her head, Regina shrugs "Semantics."

Robin draws a startled look from his fiancée when he quietly says, "She must be the one I met then."

Having picked up her fork, Regina sets it down again, "You met Norah?" When?"

Robin shrugs. "A few minutes before I met Zeus… Apparently in the same fashion you did. Well, except, I didn't arrive on Olympus first. She came down to get me. Took me up there. I did not know she was your great grandmother at the time. She never even told me her name. But, the moment you and I met, I knew you had to be related. She's right Mary Margaret, they don't just resemble one another…it's…" words fail him momentarily. "The first time I saw her…" He points at Regina. "She blew my mind! For a split second, I was convinced I was looking at the most breathtaking phantom I'd ever seen."

"Never mind that!" Regina declares impatiently. "She took you to see Zeus?"

Robin nods as he wipes his mouth on a linen napkin. "it was… Well, I suppose it was what you would call an intervention of sorts. She was not happy with me. She was always ladylike, but she made it perfectly clear that she was not at all happy with me. See, it was a few months after I lost Marian. I sort of fell apart for a bit. She came down. She told me that my life and my story were not over yet. I didn't want to listen to her. I really wasn't in the mood for a lecture. She told me that if I didn't pull myself together, and stop bloody drinking so much, I was not only going to hurt my son but, I was going to miss the second act. I told her to go away! That old woman literally grabbed me by the ear! She hauled me up there despite my angry protests, and between she and Zeus, I got quite the talking to. I know what would've happened to Marian if Zelena hadn't come along and interfered with that time traveling spell… and I know what would've happened to the two of us."

He takes hold of Regina's hand; rubbing the back of it with the pad of his thumb, he looks around the table at the faces of their friends. "And it wouldn't have ended the way you all probably think. Zeus showed me what really would have happened. He didn't tell me about Zelena's interference… I don't know. Either he didn't know about it at the time or, if he did know, he didn't think it wise to let me know. He showed me what would have happened to the four of us, Marian, Roland, Regina and me." He smiles sadly and turns his eyes to her once more. "I guess you had Tinker Bell. I had your grandmother. It didn't make Marian's death hurt any less, but it did help me to accept it."

Regina nods as he squeezes her hand affectionately and lifts it to his lips for a gentle kiss.

"Today, Zeus showed me that too." She glances around the table at their friends. "If things had been allowed to go the way they would have without my sister's interference, none of you would be here right now in the underworld. But… Roland would be with Little John. The crooked sheriff of Nottingham would have thrown Marian in prison, where he let her die, out of spite for Robin's days as a thief, and Robin and I would both be here - Dead."

Mary Margaret's eyes go wide. "Why? What happened…" She shakes her head. What would've happened?"

Regina smiles softly. "Never mind that. That's between Robin and I… And that's where it needs to stay."

Mary Margaret, along with everyone else at the table, wants to argue. They all want to press for more information, but after a moment's careful consideration, Mary Margaret holds up a hand; forestalling them all. "Whatever would've happened, isn't what did happen. And that is proof that our lives are not entirely scripted by destiny. Things can change. For the better. And so, can people. Let's try to remember that in the next few days. Let's try to remember that always and strive to be the best versions of ourselves at any given moment."

Regina laughs as though she's both pleased than mildly irritated at the same time. "Maybe it's good you said that. Zeus and I had our talk about the situation down here. He was - I must say - More than fair under the circumstances. If we choose, he will send us home this very moment. He's also willing to grant the request of Zelena and Hades. In exchange for Hades becoming completely mortal, he will send them both to New York. Zelena can return to Neal's old apartment where they can await the birth of their child. He wasn't angry with me for having the audacity to ask him to help the sibling who killed his child. In fact, he seemed to find Hades and Zelena's current situation rather comical. For a moment, I thought he would laugh until he cried. If his self-serving brother is willing to relinquish his right to power as a deity, and become the mortal husband of a vengeful, pregnant, redheaded witch… Zeus seems to think that will be punishment enough. I suppose he would know. He has a vengeful wife of his own. However, he did ask that we give due consideration to a personal favor. He would consider himself in our debt if we, before returning home, were to locate his son, Hercules, and do whatever we can to help him leave this place. Apparently, Zeus cannot interfere with the whole crossing over process any more than Hades can. That has to be up to the individual."

Regina looks around the table making eye contact with each and every person. "If you all want to go home right now. That's fine. I can't. Not after the peace of mind he's given me. I won't sleep peacefully again if I don't do everything in my power to find his son and send him home. "The last person she turns her gaze to is Robin. "Go home. Be with your son."

Robin nods his head. "I will. We both will; in a few days."

She smiles. "You sure? You don't have to worry about me. I've got a way home, and I've got a way to protect myself if need be. Part of the deal when Zeus put Hades down here was that they couldn't interfere in each other's business. Hades can't interfere with the way Olympus is run, and likewise, Zeus can't tell his brother how things should be done here. However, he said that although his brother might not agree with him, he didn't consider it interfering when he passed down the shadow casting ability. He said he didn't think it right that I should be entirely defenseless against a feckless thug whose wife has it out for me. In his mind, He wasn't trying to interfere. He was just trying to even up the score a bit. Apparently, it was his intention to retract the ability when I no longer needed it; given my past. He still may. But, he seems to be reconsidering."

Robin and her son smile at her warmly as her father says. "Well, of course he is. You've impressed him."

Mary Margaret is the next to speak with, "I know he's here. I've seen his tombstone in the cemetery. I've been looking, but I haven't found him yet. You guys can go if you want. I'm staying with Regina. Hercules and I were once friends. I can't leave him down here, and anyway, it's not every day that a god asks for a favor."

Henry bites into a hot buttered roll as he looks around the table, waiting for, and giving anyone the chance to object. When no one does, he shrugs and grins easily. "Looks like we're all staying, Mom!"

 **Chapter 43: In Sync**

Robin steps from the closet into the master bedroom. Down to his T-shirt and boxer briefs, he crosses the room, pulls the blankets back and slides beneath. While he waits, he listens to the sounds of Regina moving about in the adjoining bath.

Several minutes later when she enters the bedroom, she finds him thumbing idly through the pages of a book that he found on the bedside table. While she helps herself to his satchel and begins going through it in search of something, she asks, "Are you really that interested in the Ming Dynasty of China?"

He shrugs. "I think your mother was. It looks as if this book has been gone through a number of times."

"Yes, that would be something that would interest her. She always was interested in the methodology of ruling classes; past, present, & future." Regina stops rummaging through his satchel long enough to walk over and give the book he's holding ten second's worth of serious attention. I bought this book for Henry when he was in the fifth grade… Some school project. Apparently, this is the underworld copy. Stuff like this was Mother's bread and butter. She made me memorize every single minute detail she could collect about every kingdom in our realm as well as details about a few kingdoms in other realms." Regina returns to her search. "I have always found that kind of information to be an exceptionally good cure for insomnia."

Robin sets the book aside. He looks up to find her wrapped in nothing but a damp bath towel and pulling a shirt out of his bag. "Smiling, he squints. "Can I help you with something mi'lady?"

She holds up the shirt. "Is this clean?" She sniffs it and then answers her own question in unison with him. "Yes." She starts to turn, with the shirt in hand, intent on stepping back into the bathroom before she thinks twice. "Do you need it for tomorrow?"

"Yes… Why?"

"Okay." She shrugs easily and places the shirt back inside his satchel, along with the few other items that she removed while in search of it. Instead, she enters the closet and seconds later returns, wearing the shirt he just took off.

When he raises an eyebrow, she frowns slightly climbing into the bed beside him. "Don't tell me you mind. I need something to sleep in."

Chuckling softly, he shakes his head. "If you need it, it's yours. And I certainly don't mind. That old thing looks at 1000 times better on you than it ever has on me, but I saw some very nice nocturnal ensembles in that closet; all of them much more your style, than my faded, tired old shirt."

Regina wrinkles her nose. "Yes, there are some very nice things in there, and every single one of them belongs to my mother."

Robin frowns with disdain. "Never mind. Wear my shirt." When another thought occurs to him, his frown deepens. "Should we even be in here?"

Regina's laughter is musical. "You're the one who broke in. Now you're questioning that decision? After you've been here for hours?"

Robin shakes his head. "No, not the decision to break in, especially not if Hades has your mother in some kind of magical lock down. I meant, should we be here in this room. Is this a bit weird?"

Regina shrugs. "I thought about asking Emma and Hook to spend the night in here for that very reason, but it's not as if Mother sleeps in this bed. And, anyway, this was my house before she moved in."

"Ah right, the dead don't sleep. Not here."

Regina nods. "And, I sincerely doubt she's been doing anything else in here either. With her, sex has always been nothing more than a tool or, in some cases, a weapon. However, Hades is the only person in a position of power down here. Zelena wasn't wrong a few days ago when she, not so subtly, implied that mother might be jealous of her relationship with Hades. Not that I think there's anything going on between the two of them, but that is the sort of thing Mother would do; seek out the greatest power in any given place and align herself with it. I don't doubt for one second that she has done that, but I sincerely doubt Cora would go to the extent of sleeping with him. I mean, even before he married Zelena, whenever that was, the only thing he had to offer was the underworld. Don't get me wrong, my mother would try to become queen no matter where she was. I just don't think she intended staying down here long enough to make it worth the effort. Right about now, she's probably wishing she had. We're safe here for the moment. Whatever Hades have done with her, she won't be returning tonight.

Robin raises an eyebrow. "If she doesn't sleep, or do anything else here, why do the bed linens smell as if they'd been freshly laundered? Why keep fresh bedding on a bed you don't sleep on?"

Regina gives him an impudent smile. "Because with my mother everything is about appearances. Everything must appear as if all is as it should be. It's something she was absolutely rigid about in life. She's obviously carried it over with her into death. Whether it was or not, everything had to appear to be perfect. The condition of the palace, our clothes, our hair, our posture…" Regina laughs derisively. "Even my undergarments were cause for concern, and when I say that, I mean, long before anyone might have been interested in seeing me in them. Why do you think I don't want to wear anything in her closet? If we ever do have that little girl whose name is on the wall downstairs, promise me that if I go insane and start dressing her like some sort of pint-sized kindergarten pageant queen, you'll tell me to stop! I mean, unless she's one of those frilly little girls who wants to dress that way. I guess if she wants to, it will be okay. I sort of learned to like it as I got older but, when I was a little girl, I hated it. Mother made me miserable. Don't let me do that to her, okay?"

Robin chuckles. "Deal!" He declares offering to shake on it. "But, give yourself a break. You're worrying about things that are at least a couple of years down the road. Can we get married first before we start fretting over what is, and what is not, appropriate attire for our daughter; who isn't even on her way yet."

Regina pulls his arm around her, tucking herself in against his chest. "You'd worry about it too if you could recall the hair-raising, bloodcurdling tantrums I threw as a child because Cora wanted me to look like a living porcelain doll."

"Hair-raising and bloodcurdling? Come on now, I'm sure you weren't bad."

"Says the man who wants to marry me and have children with me. You realize, if we do, any child we have is going to have half my genes. And, you don't get to pick which half."

"I'm not scared. I'm looking forward to it." Robin reaches over and flicks out the bedside lamp.

"That's because you're a masochist!" She says quietly as she snuggles even closer in the dark. "I can't believe I'm about to say this but, thanks to Zelena, we narrowly missed killing each other once upon a time. Because of that, you go and fall in love with me and now you want to get married and make babies. If that happens, you may come to wish things had gone the other way."

Wholly unconcerned, Robin shrugs the shoulder her head is resting against and kisses the top of it. "if you promise not to throw any deadly fireballs at me; I promise not to shoot you with my bow and arrow."

Regina chuckles softly. "You think people would find it strange if we put that in our marriage vows?"

"Regina, I guarantee you people will find that strange, but who cares? They're going to be our vows. Aren't they supposed to be about us?"

She murmurs something unintelligible in the dark. Robin murmurs back… and they have no trouble understanding one another.

 **Chapter 44: Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood.**

In the hours before dawn, Robin and Regina toss and turn fretful. In both their dreams, two different versions of the past come to life.

 _While pacing furiously, she glares at the incompetent fools before her. "Where are they!" She roars with violence and venom as she stares into the empty cells beneath the palace! "Where are my prisoners!"_

 _The palace guard before her looks as though he'd rather be swallowed alive by a dragon and live out the rest of his very short life in the belly of the beast than be here in this moment. "We are not sure, Your Majesty. They were here at 2:00 AM when Griffith was on patrol. They were not here at 5:45 AM. When I came down to prepare them for execution. I do not know where they are. My apologies, Your Majesty. I can only tell you that they are not on palace grounds."_

 _The queen approaches with ground-eating strides. When she is close enough for him to feel the heat in her words, she hisses ominously, "Well, you had better find them. Find them, or I will have your heart!" Just to cement the warning firmly in his mind, she stalks passed him, and on her way to the stairs that will take her above ground once more, she callously rips out the heart of the guard whose name had been Griffith. Without ever breaking stride, she crushes it to a fine dust and then releases it as if it offends her to hold the ashen remains of a heart that had belonged to one of the most incompetent fools ever to draw breath. As her black satin cape with its silver stitching and lining flaps angrily at her ankles in the breeze created by her rapid, angry departure, the palace guard still left standing stares at the now lifeless body of Griffith and knows his days are numbered if he does not find the blonde who called herself Leia, and the other dark haired woman who had been here longer; the one who had refused to give her name._

 _Two days later, the queen approaches the paddock after an afternoon ride. She dismounts her beloved prized steed, Rocinati, while the captain of the guard approaches. Kneeling in due reverence, he bows his head, "Your Majesty. I have received word regarding the brunette woman who escaped, the day before yesterday."_

 _When he falls silent giving her the chance to respond, she snaps. "Are you waiting for; Spring? Get on with it!"_

 _"She is dead, Your Majesty."_

 _"You've killed her…" The queen smiles in dark victory. "Or perhaps one of the other man under your command?"_

 _"No Ma'am. Apparently, she was found dead early this morning her cause of death is not known. There is talk amongst the townspeople in the nearest village. It seems she was found by her husband. Rumor has it, he was quite distraught with the discovery. He knew she was missing. It seems he was out searching for her. I've been told he holds himself responsible for her death, although there is nothing to suggest that he had any direct bearing on the cause of her death… Whatever it may have been. Perhaps, she was unwell."_

 _Regina sneers. "That certainly was not the case last week when she stood up in defense of Snow White. But no matter, if you are quite certain you're Intel is correct, you may stop the search for her. What of the blonde?"_

 _"No word of her yet, My Queen. My men are still looking. She has not been spotted. There is no talk of her. If anyone knows where she is, believe me Majesty, they will talk."_

 _"You will keep looking."_

 _"Of course, Your Majesty."_

 _"Who is this husband? You are certain he is not cause for concern?"_

 _"I don't expect so. Next to nothing is known about him other than the fact that he appears to be a common thief. He's a bandit. Lives deep in the wood of Sherwood Forest where he camps with the band of outlaws."_

 _The queen makes a humorless sound as she offers a piece of fresh mint to her horse as a treat. "She died to keep from having to return to such a pathetic existence. Who in their right mind would want to be married to a common, forest-dwelling, thief? Still… Nothing else is known about him?"_

 _"The only other information I could obtain is the fact that he seems to have earned the disdain of the Sheriff of Nottingham. Apparently his… Late… wife was once preferred by the sheriff. She chose the outlaw over him. It has caused some strife for the man. Nottingham has an axe to grind… Nothing else is known except the fact that the man apparently has a rather well-recognized tattoo on his wrist, of course, that wouldn't be of any interest to you, Your Majesty."_

 _Until now half of her attention has been for the animal at her side, but upon hearing this, the queen whirls, giving the captain her full attention. "He has a tattoo? What sort of tattoo?"_

 _The captain of the guard shakes his head in confusion. "My man was told it was an image of a lion, here…" Demonstrating, he holds out his own wrist, exposing the underside to view. He raises an eyebrow when the queen suddenly pales without explanation. "Majesty, are you unwell?"_

 _"No. Leave me."_

 _Unconvinced by her worsening pallor, the captain of the guard asks, "Are you certain I shouldn't call for a physician, My Queen? Forgive me, Your Majesty, but you do look rather stricken just now."_

 _Wishing only to be left alone with her thoughts, Regina growls insidiously. "I asked to be left alone. Comply, or the only one here who's going to need a physician is you!"_

Regina whimpers in her sleep. As bad as the dream is, it is not a surprise. This memory is known to her. It's familiar. And therefore safer, less distressing and far less vile than the one that follows; the one she wouldn't have known about if Zeus hadn't told her.

What she hadn't known the morning of the pre-empted execution was that she and her men were not alone in the dungeon below the castle.

 _A hooded figure had crept in and joined them as silently as a shadow; a hooded figure in possession of his trusted bow and arrow. He'd come with only one goal; to free his wife, whatever the cost. It was his fault she was here. He'd been away; away on a hunting trip with his merry men. That he could forgive himself for. After all, food was a necessity of life. He did not know Snow White personally. He did know, that like him, she was a bandit… And a fairly good one. And in his mind, good thieves were honor bound to stick together, to offer one another support when and where they could, even if they were not personally acquainted. He told his men this. He told his young son this. He told his wife this, and that is why it was his fault. She was acting on his advice when she took up for Snow White. He had gone off in search of food and left the woman he loved alone to stand in the face of tyranny. He returned from his trip to receive the ghastly news of her capture. The one they all call the Evil Queen had her, and he would get her back…. No matter what it cost him._

 _Only… She was not here. She had escaped - with some blonde woman named Leia. Marian was free! That was all that mattered. When he had first heard the footsteps of the guards entering the dungeon, he ducked into a dark corner to wait for the right moment to ambush them. He hadn't expected the commotion, the alarm, the excitement. He most certainly hadn't expected the queen, herself, to arrive within mere minutes of the announcement._

 _From his place in the dark, he had listened to her surprise and her rage. It was genuine; hideously dark and 100% genuine. He would've taken on the two guards, or her, by herself, no matter how foolish it was to do so. He had been warned, but it did not matter. For Marian, he would do it. Trouble was… He smiled, Marian was not here. He wasn't about to take on all three of them for no reason at all._

 _He waited in the dark watching the exchange between the dark queen and her men. He winced silently when one called Griffith fell. He had heard it was possible, but until that moment, he'd never actually seen anyone crush a human heart, only to walk away as if it were nothing at all. While he waited for his exit to be clear, he sat crouched in the dark wondering what it must be like to possess enough power to literally extinguish a life in the palm of your hand. Then he ran. He ran on winged feet. He had to find his wife before the queen did._

Even now, years later, finding her the way he did still brings fresh tears to his eyes with a piercing pain that stills his breath in his chest. Robin murmurs mournfully in his sleep. He hadn't known the truth of what happened to his wife until Zelena's villainous charade was revealed. All he knew was the pain of finding her that way. He knew she had escaped, and somehow died before she made it home. He also knew that as black-hearted as the queen was, it was not her fault. It was not her doing. Her anger, her shock, had been too real when she found her prisoners gone. If he had ever thought differently, even for a single moment, he would have faced her; to hell with the consequences.

 _He moped around for months with his devastated heat bleeding for a love he could not let go of. He drank himself into a stupor nearly every night. Not knowing what happened, not knowing why she was gone, only that she was. That was the worst of it. He drank himself half blind the night the old woman showed up. She just appeared out of nowhere. She wasn't there, and then she was. He wanted her to leave. He wanted her to go the bloody hell away! She was stubborn. It didn't matter that she was old. She was beautiful… And stubborn! Not to mention the fact that she was really rather put out with him. He didn't know why. He didn't care why. At least not until she grabbed him by the ear and hauled him all the way to Mount Olympus under extreme, and adamant, protest. She treated him as if he were a misbehaving, wayward, child instead of a grown man with an irreversibly broken heart._

 _Between the two of them, the god of thunder and this beautiful old witch of a woman helped him, even though he did not want their help. They did not tell him what happened to his wife. Instead, they told him what would have happened if things hadn't gone the way they did._

In his sleep, Robin sees it all over again, just the way Zeus had showed it to him _._

 _"You are meant to be with her." Zeus declared._

 _Robin's laughter was harsh and acrid. "I'm meant to be with the woman who imprisoned my wife… My Marian?"_

 _When the old woman had nodded, adding, "And if you don't pull yourself together, you're going to miss the second act, My Boy." he had glared at her._

 _"That's just too bloody bad!" He spat the words at her._

 _"She is dark, but that is not entirely her fault, and she is not meant to stay that way. Aside from the darkness, there is also a great light within her. She needs only the chance to uncover it. Something I think you understand on a very personal level."_

 _"I don't care what you think you understand, and I don't give one bloody whit what this woman needs!"_

 _Zeus had raised an eyebrow. "Really? Would you feel the same if I'd told you, that had your wife not escaped, had you gone there and fought for her freedom, ultimately the dark queen would have released your wife and then given her own life in a selfless effort to save yours. She too, knows you are meant to be together. Unlike you, she believes, or at least, she wants to believe. Even so, in a moment when your life could have hung in the balance, she would have chosen to relinquish her own in an effort to get you back home to your wife, simply because it was what you wanted. Here watch…"_

 _Zeus had waved a hand over a reflective pool and in the water's surface, Robin watched the events of what might have happened unfold tragically before him._

 _He was freeing Marian from her cell. He found her. She was locked up, but not hurt, and he was setting her free; telling her she had to be quiet and they had to move quickly. The guard would be coming soon. They only had a few minutes. That's when he heard the sound of someone in heels descending the dungeon steps. Without thought, he turned, readied his bow, dropped to one knee, and fired._

 _As the queen stepped into view, caught completely unaware, his arrow found home deep within her abdomen. She stumbled forward. In shock and half blind with pain. She saw nothing more than movement in the shadows, took aim and returned fire._

 _The fireball was quick as lightning and instantly left a gaping, flaming, wound in his chest._

 _The queen fell to her knees and tried in vain to call for help. Unable to raise more than a whisper, she magically removed the arrow from the wound, and then half lunged, and half crawled, toward her attacker while his wife screamed in anguish as her husband lay gasping and sputtering on the straw covered floor._

 _"Get away from him!" Marian screamed. Don't touch him! Leave him alone!" She yelled as the queen dragged herself forward toward her adversary._

 _The key was in the lock, and Marian tried wildly to reach around through the bars of her cell and unlock the door. However, before she could accomplish this the wounded queen waved a blood-soaked hand and the key vanished from sight._

 _Marian screamed louder and finally, rushing footsteps sounded on the stairs._

 _Curious to know who her attacker was, the queen dragged herself forward covering the remaining distance between them at what felt like a snail's pace. When the palace guards instantly reached for her, she pushed them away roughly, and yanked back the hood that obscured his face from view._

 _Struck by the odd sense of familiarity, but not understanding why, she stared down at him, at a complete loss until the arm he held out in a fruitless attempt to ward her off, fell palm up at his side._

 _The guards screamed, "Call for a Physician. Get a mage down here now! The queen is wounded!"_

 _While the guards yelled orders, and Marian wailed piteously for her husband. The queen stared at the tattoo on his wrist and, grief stricken, she silently called for the only one she knew would hear her… The Dark One._

 _Although she made no sound verbally, he arrived in the blink of an eye. "Dearie, you don't have to shout. I may be centuries old, but my ears haven't given out. He giggled maniacally. "Oh my, what's all this about? He asked, taking in the scene._

 _"Help him. Heal him! The queen croaked in an unexpected whisper that brought the chaotic room to a sudden deafening silence._

 _"Heal him?" The Dark One parroted. He giggled again. "Heal him yourself, Dearie. There's no MD after my name, and you're more than capable of the same."_

 _The queen shook her head. "Can't heal a wound I inflicted!" She rasped._

 _In agonizing pain, and in utter confusion, Robin's gaze flicked to his wife before it volleyed back and forth between his attacker, and the freakish giggling one."_

 _The newcomer glanced down at Robin on the floor. "I'm afraid it's true. If she inflicted the wound, she won't be able to heal you. Say your goodbyes. That's the best you can do." He chortled gleefully._

 _As he felt the little that was left of his strength waning, Robin reached for his wife's hand; the two of them shocked beyond words to find tears falling from the queen's dark, frightened eyes. "I'm sorry." She panted, in a strangled whisper. "I didn't know she was your wife. I didn't know it was you. I'll fix it."_

 _Robin grunted incredulously. "How?"_

 _'Still working on that part." The queen croaked out dryly._

 _The palace guards, reached for the queen once again, and again she pushed them aside. "Help him!" She ordered weakly."_

 _"Your Majesty?"_

 _"You heard me." She rasped. "He gets help first… And release his wife." She barely spoke, breathing raggedly._

 _"Your Majesty, if you don't allow us to help you, you are going to die! This man has committed treason!"_

 _Regina shook her head listlessly. "Don't care about that… And I've been shoot in the gut. I'm going to die regardless of what you do. Wake my father, tell him… I love him."_

 _She watched Robin reach for Marian again. She saw his love for his wife clearly there in his eyes, and she knew help would not arrive in time._

 _When his body goes slack and lifeless, she summons up nearly all that is left of her strength to cast a preservation spell for him. Then she glances at the captain of the guard once more, and repeats brokenly, "Release her." To Marian, she vows "I will send him back to you."_

 _And then every living soul in the dungeon gasps in horror as the queen uses the very last of her own strength to rip out her own blackened heart and crush it._

Robin and Regina both wake suddenly. Startled by the horror of it all, and grateful that the worst of it is only what could have been, and not what is. In the dark, they reach for each other.

When her heart rate slows to a calmer pace and her breathing returns to normal, Regina asks quietly, "Does this mean I have to tell Zelena thank you?"

Robin squints. "For what? Killing my wife? You better not!"

"That's not what I meant. I meant, for saving me from myself." She is silent for a long moment and then there's the hint of something dark in her laughter. "Oh, ho, ho! If I tell her this, she is going to be royally pissed! All the things she did to try and tear us apart. If she had just left us alone, we would have wound up killing each other."

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. Zeus and Norah both said we were meant to be together… and here we are."

Regina laughs boldly in the dark. "Robin! I hate to break this to you, but… here we are… In the underworld! The same place we wound up stuck in after we killed each other! This is not my idea of happily ever after!"

"Yeah, but we're not going to stay here in the underworld, mi'lady. The gods have smiled upon us… Well, at least the good ones anyway, and the bad one needs our help. Things could be a lot worse."

She sighs heavily, trying not to smile. 'Go back to sleep!" She orders affectionately.

Robin chuckles softly. "I will if you will."

 **Chapter 45: Bring It On!**

Before first light, Regina wakes. Although she is not noisy on purpose, she makes no effort to be quiet either. With the express purpose of waking everyone. She prepares a pot of coffee with deliberation; one that will be brewed strongly. Selecting any useful leftovers from last night's feast, she sets about making a fragrant breakfast with leftover ham, potatoes, and a selection of fresh fruit. to which she adds her signature apple pancakes.

She isn't the least bit surprised when the first one to join her is Mary Margaret who is then followed a half hour later by a young, sleep-tousled, Henry.

In the moments before Henry joins them, Mary Margaret sips bold coffee with the gleam of appreciation in her eyes. "Now that's a cup of coffee!" She points into her own cup and smiles with supreme satisfaction. "I love my husband, but he's a wuss when it comes to coffee. And because we had different preferences when it comes to the strength of our coffee, he can't make a decent cup either."

Regina offers her a slight smile. "My one dietary vice. I try to exercise, eat healthily, not drink too much, blah blah blah. But leave me my coffee! I want it bold and fragrant with just the right blend of light and dark, and just a hint of something sweet. I'm so finicky about it that I don't like to drink coffee made by anyone else. Back in the Enchanted Forest, I ran off a good many servants who, no matter how many times I explained it, couldn't get my coffee right."

Mary Margaret chuckles softly and says discreetly over the rim of her own cup. "Yes, I remember. Father used to complain about the kitchen staff that he said you chased away on a weekly basis."

"Leopold probably wasn't wrong. I probably did chase someone away on a weekly basis, and usually for that reason. The only person I have personally found who makes a better cup of coffee than me is Robin."

Mary Margaret raises a curious eyebrow as she helps herself to a kitchen barstool. "Oh yeah?"

Regina nods before whispering with the hint of something dark and lustful in her voice. "Oh yeah! That man can make a cup of coffee! And, the best part is, he asked me how I wanted it once, and that was it. I didn't have to explain it to him repeatedly. One time… and he makes it just right, every time. For somebody who is as selective about coffee as I am, I can't begin to tell you how impressive that is."

Mary Margaret wagers a guess. "He's picky about the way he likes his coffee too; isn't he?"

Regina nods. He doesn't want his cup fixed the same way I do, but he's no less choosy about the way he does want it."

"That's why you didn't have to explain it to him more than once… Well, that and the fact that he likes you even more than he likes his own cup of coffee." Mary Margaret flashes a knowing smile.

Regina lifts one shoulder in a casual shrug as she flips pancakes at the stove. "I don't care why he does it; just as long as he keeps doing it."

"You feeling domestic this morning?"

Regina laughs dryly. "No, not especially. What I'm feeling is impatient. I'm trying to wake everyone up. The sooner the better. I'm just trying to do it in the nicest way possible."

"Impatient about what, exactly"

"If I get my way. We're leaving this place before sundown; today. I've had enough. It's time. I want to go home!" However, if we are leaving by sundown, we have some things to do yet."

"Eager to get home and start planning that wedding?"

Regina shrugs again and this time it's accompanied by a look that implies rigorous disinterest. "Don't get me wrong, I'm eager to be married… Wow! Did I just say that?" She flashes a rare bright smile. "I didn't think I would ever feel this way." However, just because I'm eager for it to be a done deal does not mean I'm looking forward to the planning phase. I've only done this once. I do not intend to do it a third time, and the first time… There was nothing about it that I wanted." Feeling it's too late when she catches herself, she adds apologetically. "I know he was your father, and I mean no offense. It just…" She shrugs yet again."

"It just wasn't what you wanted. "It's okay Regina. We're both grownups, finally!" Mary Margaret chuckles dryly. "You can tell the truth. I don't have to take offense to it. It wasn't about me… Or actually, maybe it was about me. I'm sure that was a big part of the problem. It shouldn't have been about me."

"It wasn't about you. Your father may have thought it was. But it wasn't. After our little long-distance phone call to the other side - I guess that would be, this side - that much was painfully obvious. My marriage to your father was about my mother."

If you want to leave here today, are you going to tell Cora about your plans? Have you told her?"

"No! I'm not going to either. I would appreciate it if you didn't either. Mother has already interfered far too much with mine and Robin's relationship. I won't give her another opportunity to do more of the same."

When Mary Margaret raises an eyebrow, silently asking for more. Regina takes a few moments to fill her in on the whole sordid backstory centering around her once barren state. She tells Mary Margaret about her mother's offer to help locate Robin, about the man that her mother tried to unsuccessfully pass off as Robin, her mother's self-serving desire for a grandchild, the self-inflicted curse meant to protect that, and any other child. She explains Maggie's 'non-returnable' wedding gift and about how, although she has not yet been to see a doctor, and therefore has no proof, she believes that she and Robin will one day have a child. She ends the conversation by telling Mary Margaret that through the course of her conversation with Zeus, she has been able to learn the identity of the impostor her mother tried to pass off as Robin.

"Zeus told me - Well, apparently, he's told us both - Robin's known for years that, according to Zeus, we were supposed to be together. If Zelena hadn't killed Marian, Robin and I would've killed each other. He said after we departed for the underworld, the sheriff of Nottingham threw Marian in prison out of spite for Robin's crimes. I'm sure the decision also had something to do with the fact that she chose Robin over him. Anyway, He left her there to die. It wasn't until we came to that part of the story that I recognized Nottingham as Robin's stand in."

Mary Margaret shakes her head in wonder and gestures with her hands as she talks. "Okay, I was about to make one of my warm, fuzzy, speeches about how she's your mother, and she should be allowed to know if her daughter is planning to marry and add a few more branches to the family tree. But, it seems, once again, I have forgotten that your mother is nothing like my mother. I wouldn't tell her either. Not after all that. Does Robin know about what didn't happen between you and Nottingham?"

Regina nods. When I told him about the infertility curse I told him about Nottingham. Except, at that point, I knew everything but his name. I filled him in late last night. I didn't know how he would take the news. For a minute or two, I considered not telling him… Then I realized deliberately choosing not to tell him - Well, that would've been the same thing as lying. I thought he might be upset. Instead, he had a good laugh at Nottingham's expense. I think he found it particularly enjoyable that his former nemesis spent the night clinging to a cliff above a fiery pit. He was half asleep, but he murmured something to the effect of, 'Sure, go ahead, mess with my girl, she will roast you're lying bum! I think he may have actually fallen back to sleep laughing."

"Back to sleep?"

Regina nods as she sets a plate down on the bar in front of Mary Margaret. "After everything we've learned the last few days, I wouldn't be surprised if strange dreams wake us both up every night for a month. Still, I think it's a good thing. in spite of some minor discomfort, the air is clear between us. We're… We're okay. Which sounds a whole lot simpler than it is. Two weeks ago, I didn't think we would ever be okay again.

"So, home for dinner? That's the plan?"

Regina nods adamantly. "You can walk around looking for Hercules, all over Underbrooke if you want to. I'm going to skip the leg work. I'm going straight to Hades. He can either tell me where to find him, or he can sit here and watch his wife suffer. I'm done dancing with him. We get Hercules home, we find my mother, get her out of lock up, offer her the chance to temporarily become Queen of The Underworld, Empress, Down Below, or whatever the hell she wants to call herself. Zeus gets us home, and his brother and my sister off to New York…. All's well that ends well, and twelve hours from now I want to be standing in my kitchen -not some cheesy underworld imitation of my kitchen- making lasagna for my dad's dinner."

Mary Margaret smiles agreeably. "Okay. She says with the telltale hint of doubt in her voice. "Just one thing. You do know it's not going to go that smoothly; Right?"

Regina rolls her eyes. "Of course, I know that! The day everything goes smoothly in my life - I am fully convinced, will be my last. However, one way or another, I'm going home tonight. So, bring it on!"

 **Chapter 46: The Deal**

Aching from head to toe, Cora bends to pick up another peck of wheat. When she turns the bundle over in her arms, she ducks to hide the smile that suddenly graces her face and discreetly extracts the gleaming silver hook skillfully hidden among the stalks. Using it, she shucks her magical restraints and crouches low, waiting for the opportunity to make a break for the door.

"Hey, she's running!" One guard yells to the other.

She taps in and sends out a pathetic blast of dark magic. It's barely enough to send the guards flying ten feet. Briefly, the thought occurs to her that Regina must be depleting Hades' storehouse of power. Which would be fine if that didn't also mean she was simultaneously depleting Cora's only access to power.

 _It's time to send that girl home._

Sprinting through the exit, after using magic to open it, she turns, and taps in again, magically slamming the iron gate shut and sealing it; effectively turning the tables on her captors. She trots through an underground corridor, soon coming up alongside a familiar pirate clad in black leather. Handing his gleaming prosthetic back to him, she comments with mild appreciation. "So, you're my fairy godmother."

Hook re-attaches the appendage that earned him his by rakish moniker and raises an eyebrow as he tilts his head to one side. "No one's ever called me that before, love."

"Did Regina recruit you for this little jailbreak?"

"Aye, that she did. And if you will follow me, your presence has been requested topside."

Before moving another inch, Cora snaps her fingers and magically changes her pitifully tattered ensemble, to one of silk and lace; and much more befitting to royalty.

When Hook offers only a sly smile without the benefit of comment, Cora raises an eyebrow. "What, you didn't think I was going anywhere in those filthy rags?"

"Me, I couldn't care less, love. Burlap or silk; makes no difference. The woman makes the clothes. The clothes don't make the woman."

"Are you telling me you honestly don't find this… "She gestures toward her newly chosen apparel. "More appealing than what I just discarded."

The pirate shrugs. "Without a doubt. But, seersucker or satin… It doesn't matter which. Neither one can keep a man warm. Especially not when it's laying in a discarded heap on the floor at the foot of the bed. Only a woman can do that… And, like I said, no matter how fine, the clothes don't make the woman." He smiles his devil-may-care smile and offers her his arm. "Shall we?"

They walk through the underground tunnel with purpose in their strides. When Hook turns toward the old freight elevator, Cora offers, "I know a faster way." But, before she can snap her fingers, the guard gate on the old elevator drops and Regina steps off.

"Come on, you two." She orders; wasting no time on pleasantries.

The duo stops and looks back the way they came.

Once she is passed, Regina looks back over her shoulder. Beckoning, she adds, "Let's get this party started! The sooner it's over, the sooner I'm out of here!"

Cora frowns but follows, while Hook offers, with his usual smidgen of sarcasm, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

As Regina bypasses Hades' prison farm that was constructed just to hold Cora, she smiles snidely at the two angry guards. "What's the matter? Did you lose something boys?"

She chuckles softly when one guard turns to the other and declares in a singsong voice, "Hades it is not going to like this."

Regina traverses the winding corridor with ease and familiarity despite the steep downward slope. As she goes, she recognizes her own familiarity and it reinforces her belief that she's been here far too long.

When she comes to the entrance to the Dark Lord's private residence, she pushes both doors open wide without knocking; making a grand entrance.

Instead of finding Hades, as she expected, upon his throne, she finds that the room has been redecorated somewhat. An assortment of fine, and decadently comfortable, furniture has been added.

Regina finds her sister, pampered and resting like a spoiled feline upon a chaise upholstered in silver and emerald satin.

"Hello, sis!" She announces with mock cheeriness. "Guess what? Today is your lucky day. Today, I'm leaving. After today, I never have to see you again. Isn't that wonderful?"

"If you've found your way out of this place… Sis." Zelena returns the phony endearment. "Then, don't let me keep you. Please, by all means, be gone. You can take the pirate, Mother, and the rest of your merry little friends along with you; if you don't mind." Zelena curls her lip as if her own words leave a vulgar taste in her mouth.

"Not so fast. There's business I need to discuss with your husband, first. Where is he; and while I'm on the subject, just exactly how long has he been your husband?"

"Not quite two years. We started seeing each other not too long before I put that dreadful girl to sleep. She was making my life in Oz rather difficult. As far as I know, she's still asleep. Pity…" Zelena announces brightly. "I suppose she didn't have a true love to come and wake her. If she did have such a love, he's not likely to do her much good. I bet you he's back in your world, in that place. What is it called? Kansas?"

Regina scowls. "Who are you going on about? Dorothy? What did you do to her?"

"Aren't you listening? I put her to sleep. She was becoming bothersome. So, I took a page from your book and used a sleeping curse. It really was depressingly simple. Didn't take much skill at all." Zelena shrugs as if she hasn't a care in the world. "Sad really… I've heard that her poor dear Auntie Em is here. Unable to rest for worrying about her niece."

Tired of wasting time, Regina sighs. "You know. Every time I see you, Greenie, you're laying down. Doctors used to tell expectant mothers to do that until they finally wised up and realized that if you let all your muscles atrophy during the nine months preceding delivery, it just makes things that much harder for both Mom and the little one. Instead of all this fancy furniture, you should ask Hades to supply you with some low impact exercise equipment that won't put too much strain on you and the temperamental little goddess. How is she today? She hasn't set her father on fire, has she? I do hope that isn't why he's not here."

By way of answering, Zelena bellows, "Ha…des!"

Within seconds, he enters the room at a trot, disheveled, looking like he hasn't slept in days, and in possession of a very heavy five o'clock shadow. "Yes, my love? What do you and my little goddess need?"

Zelena pouts as she waves sullenly in Regina's direction. "I told her to leave. But she says she has business to discuss with you."

Hades rubs his hands together in anticipation. "Yes, I'm certain she does."

Zelena sits up. Intending to rise and leave the room, she declares "Fine! Discuss your business. When it's over, please make her disappear."

"Don't scamper off just yet, darling. Your sister may have good news… For both of us." Instead of asking the question, Hades simply turns his gaze to Regina and raises an eyebrow.

From her place centered between Cora and Hook, Regina folds her hands behind her back and offers a slight, almost imperceptible, nod.

She pauses a long moment as she watches Hades try not to smile. When she feels as though he might pop from the strain of trying to hold in his own enthusiasm, she offers quietly, "You have been granted a temporary pardon from this place. Provided you relinquish all magical powers, you and your wife will be relocated to New York City. You will reside in the former apartment of one Mr. Neal Cassidy. Zelena is already familiar with both the apartment and the city. She will be able to… help you acclimate to life as a mortal being in our world. Funds will be provided but, only enough to make you comfortable. If you want more than comfort Hades, you'll have to find yourself a useful means of employment. It has been arranged for you to remain there in New York until your child is three months old. At which time, you, Hades, must return to the underworld. This is nonnegotiable. Whether or not Zelena and the child return with you is entirely up to her. This is what Zeus offers. It is offered upon the conditions that, for said length of time, neither of you leave New York City. Travel outside the city will not be permitted under any circumstances. Leave NYC, and you will both be immediately returned to the underworld. Zeus assures me, he will be watching. And, before you get too excited…" she holds up a hand, silently asking for patience. "There is one other condition."

Hades nods eagerly. "Yes, yes! Don't stand there and keep us in suspense! What does my brother want?"

"He wants his son," Regina says succinctly. "To be more specific, he wants his son returned home safely to Mount Olympus. I do not intend to search the whole of this horrid, little, replicated town in search of your nephew. "Tell me where he is - and before you think about offering any resistance - your deal does not go into effect until he leaves this place and sets foot on Olympus - unharmed."

The frown on the dark god's face is there but for a flicker in time. He needs only to glance at his wife and all thought of opposition evaporates from his mind. Readily agreeing to the terms laid out before him, Hades beckons, indicating that they should follow as he leaves the room. "I can show you where he is. There's a reason Snow White has not been able to find him. She hasn't searched here."

Regina, Hook, Zelena, and Cora all follow as he leads them from one chamber to the next within his private domain.

Hades brings them to a stop outside a large medieval door he must magically unlock. When it's done, he opens the door wide and ushers them in with a flourish. Regina is the next one through the door, but only after turning to make certain that Hook has the presence of mind to be the last one to enter.

Stepping over the threshold, she finds herself in a large dungeon. In the center of the room, a young male stands chained to both floor and ceiling; his ankles and wrists manacled by heavy irons. He is surrounded by a massive cage; made entirely of turbulently flowing water.

Regina's mouth falls open. "Good god!" She breathes in astonishment.

Hades chuckles. "Unfortunately, yes. He's so good it makes me sick… But, he's only half-god. His mother was a mortal."

Regina scowls as much in response to the misunderstanding, as to the pointless sharing of such banal details in a moment like this, "I wasn't referring to him. It was merely an excited utterance. Can he breathe in there?"

"Of course not." Hades brings his fingertips to a point in front of his lips. "But then again, he doesn't need to. He's already dead."

"Right." Regina whispers more to herself than to anyone else in the room. "Does that hurt him?"

Hades shrugs. "I certainly hope so."

Regina grinds her teeth together and does battle with the impulse to send him on a one-way trip to Hell. "You let him out of there!" she turns her attention to the young captive. "Hercules?" She is surprised when he nods and makes meaningful eye contact. She glares at Hades viciously. "You let him out of there, right now!"

Hades offers only a single word. "Can't."

Regina growls. "What the hell do you mean you can't? You put him in there, didn't you? You let him out! Now!"

"Can't." Hades repeats; shaking his head. When Zeus put me down here, he made a deal with me. He said he'd stay out of my business if I stayed out of his. I didn't trust him. I didn't construct this myself for that very reason. I figured if Zeus ever decided to meddle where he didn't belong. If he ever tried to force me to do as you're asking... I wouldn't be able to undo it because I didn't do it in the first place."

"Well, who did, you wretched little leech?"

He shrugs. "One of my other brothers."

Regina glances at the colossal freestanding walls of water, and the answer to her question slides home immediately. "Poseidon."

"Right, you are."

"Call him!"

Hades laughs, "To do what?"

"To undo it, of course!"

"That's not gonna happen, Regina. I mean, I'm not unwilling. I'll call him. He won't answer. Even if he does, it will be to laugh at you."

"Why should he laugh at me?"

"Well okay, technically he won't be laughing at you. He'll be laughing at me... If he answers at all. It's highly unlikely that he will."

"Why?"

"He's the god of the sea. He's known for being tempestuous."

"Uh-uh, Hades! I'm not buying that. What did you do to him?"

He shrugs. "If you must know; a while back, he asked me to help him locate his daughter. I said no."

"Great! Tell me now Hades… Have you pissed off all of your 11 brothers and sisters?"

Hades shrugs in a way that would seem to indicate that the answer might well be yes.

Regina sighs in exasperation and begins to pace trying to think her way through the problem. After a few moments, she asks, "How about a little shadow casting? Will that work?"

Hades throws back his head and laughs sadistically, while Hercules is seen wide-eyed and vigorously shaking his own head in the negative.

"You don't have to make an ass of yourself, Hades! A simple no would have sufficed!"

"Not even if you had excellent control over it. Which you don't. You barely have minimal control."

"So far, I've had enough control to keep from turning your scrawny ass into flambé. Do you really want me to start rethinking self-control! You don't exactly look at your best. Zeus agreed to let you leave if you cooperated with his conditions. Will you let him come down here? Can he undo it?"

Not wanting to seem too eager, Hades pretends to think it over, while his nephew nods enthusiastically.

More inclined to trust the son over the brother, Regina doesn't even wait for Hades to answer before pulling a sterling silver compact mirror from a small pocket in the inner lining of her cloak. Flipping it open, she gives her sister the impression that she's smiling at her own reflection the instant before she says, "Zeus, a little help down here; if you please, sir."

 **Chapter 47: Liberating Hercules**

The very moment Regina's request is made, Zeus appears in a brilliant lightning flash. While she and Hades each had the presence of mind to avert their gaze in anticipation of his arrival, the others must wince and shield their eyes as an afterthought. His immediate attention is for Regina. "What seems to be in trouble?'

Regina gestures toward his brother's prisoner with an outstretched hand. "I'm sorry to say, I'm in over my head, and regrettably, so is your son."

With a raised eyebrow, Zeus turns and stares - first in disbelief, and then with rapidly mounting and tightly controlled fury - at the magical cell built around his boy. He turns to glare at his brother as thunder begins to rumble, low and ominous, somewhere far overhead.

For two seconds Regina watches in silence as the tightly clenched muscles in the god's neck and jaw begin to work compulsively; twitching beneath the skin and alive with fury. Zeus takes two involuntary steps toward his brother, and as he does, Regina takes two very deliberate steps backward; holding out both hands and pulling both Hook and her mother along with her. However, before blood is spilled, Zeus seems to think better of his murderous intent. Stopping himself, he turns, once again to study his son's wet prison. As everyone watches and waits, a thought occurs to the god of Olympus.

At first, he speaks calmly, evenly despite the storm of emotions below the surface. "I'll have you out of there momentarily, son."

He waits for Hercules to nod his understanding, and then lightning flashes again and he disappears just as suddenly as he arrived. Amid a horrendous, rolling clap of thunder, his voice roars deafeningly, "Posei…don!"

The first to speak, Cora uses her hands to shield her ears as she breathes quietly. "Well, that was unpleasant! My ears will ring for a month!"

Regina rolls her eyes and places her hands on her hips. "Don't breathe a sigh of relief just yet, Mother. He's coming back, and if you think that was bad…"

Hook nods agreeably. "I'm afraid Regina is right, love. That was nothing but thunder, and thunder is only the noisy sidekick. The lightning does all the work."

Regina turns her attention to Hades. "With both Zeus and Poseidon down here, and at odds with one another, I think it's safe to say… A storm is coming. I hope you have flood insurance."

Hook chuckles derisively. "I hope you can swim, mate. I have a feeling you're about to be the one who's in over his head. Those nice blue flames of yours might be permanently extinguished."

Zelena stares at the ceiling, visible concern seeping into her eyes as, above ground, the wind picks up. From far underground, they hear little more than a whisper but the quality of the air around them changes noticeably signaling an unfavorable change in barometric pressure. The wicked witch glances at her sister, who whispers in a sing-song voice, "Incoming…"

As the ground beneath their feet begins to tremble violently, Regina closes her eyes, purely on instinct, and cautiously steps nearer to the door. Catching faint traces of cologne, she senses that Hook is the one who steps intimately close, so she whispers, "Even if the two of them don't flood this place, they're likely to cause a cave in. Get ready to run… fast."

"I'll be right beside you, Your Majesty." He assures the instant she feels the cold metallic chill of his hook find its way into her hand.

The gods arrive in what Regina knows, even though her eyes are closed, is a blinding cacophony of light and sound. Thunder booms high overhead, reverberating off anything in its path, and though she cannot see it presently, she knows, purely on instinct, that lightning must be splitting the eerie red sky above this hellish place.

When she thinks it's safe to do so, she slowly opens one eye before the other and finds, just as she expected, two livid brothers standing toe to toe, with their gazes locked on one another and their eyes alight with fire.

"What is the meaning of this?" Poseidon demands. He jerks his arm free of his brother's grasp.

Growling deeply enough to make dust fall from the ceiling overhead, Zeus points toward his captive son heatedly. "You are responsible for this. Don't even bother to deny it. Release my son at once or I will see to it that Ursula and the rest of your tentacled offspring find themselves beached!"

"There's no need to make threats Zeus. I have no problem releasing him."

"Then why has it not already been done!"

Poseidon shrugs. "Quite honestly, I forgot that I'd done it."

"You forgot!" Zeus bellows loud enough to cause the ceiling overhead to crack.

"Come on, Zeus! You know how many children I have! You know how busy they keep me. With Ursula finally, back home, we've been catching up. So, yes, I forgot!"

Amid the argument, Zelena steps closer to her husband and breathes quietly in his ear. "Do you all routinely torture each other's children for sport?"

"Don't worry, my love. The family is precious to Zeus. Before this is over, he may kill me, but he won't harm you or our girl."

"Release him!" Zeus roars!

"Oh alright! Don't bring the place down on our heads Zeus. You'll bury us all!"

Poseidon points his majestic trident, seemingly aiming it straight at Hercules. Dark power flows forth, bursting across the room in an ominous wave and slams against a wall of water with enough raw power to split the floor and crack the walls of the Dark Lord's precious sanctuary. Watching for signs of imminent collapse, Regina waits pensively while the ground beneath her feet continues to rumble like a great cantankerous beast waking after a long sleep. It takes several seconds for the first wall to come down and when it finally does, she finds herself up to her knees in water. As Poseidon takes aim once more, against a second wall, she heads for the door. Intending to make certain that it is open and clear of falling debris. Following her gaze, Hook catches the thread of her thoughts and trails along.

Before the second wall can come down, she and Hook both hear a faint but recognizable voice somewhere in the distance on the other side of the door.

"Regina!"

"Emma!" She bellows; knowing that her voice is probably little more than a whisper in competition with the terrible noise of raw power being expelled. "In here… but I wouldn't come in if I were you."

Two seconds don't fully elapse before the blonde is standing in the partially obstructed doorway with two companions, shouting "What? I can't hear y… Whoa! What the hell? She demands; catching her first sight of the spectacle within. Emma shakes her head in fearful astonishment. "No wonder the whole damn town is shaking like it's sitting on top of the San Andreas fault." She yells above the din.

Regina nods aggressively toward those who came with her as Robin stares, silently aghast, and Mary Margaret cries out in anguish, "Hercules!" before her gaze quickly swivels back to Regina. "What is Poseidon doing here?"

"Trying to free him. It's some sort of magical prison. Like, perpetual waterboarding."

"Oh no!" "Mary Margaret cries out again as water flows out into the corridor; soaking them all and rising to their hips. "Hang on, Herc!" She screams as Regina loses her footing in the current and goes down.

Head suddenly under water, she is momentarily disoriented until she feels and knows the sensation of Killian Jones sinking his hook into the laces at the back of her corset and hauling her quickly to the surface before the prosthetic can render the laces utterly useless.

Reclaiming her footing, she offers a disgruntled and breathless "Thanks."

He shrugs. "Anytime."

As she pulls on the door, struggling to open it wide enough for people to pass through, Regina hisses, "It's not bad enough you had to come down here? You had to bring them too?"

Emma shrugs while she helps push from her side.

"Emma, they're not magical, which means if this whole place comes down; not only do we have to get ourselves out, we have to worry about them!"

Emma shrugs again. "Couldn't help it! Mom wouldn't let me come by myself! And, when the earth started to shake like a new underground volcano was forming, Robin got worried about you. If I'd left them, they were going to come on their own. At least this way they're with me. I don't have to worry about finding them."

"Oh, goodie!" Regina grins with dark hostility. "Now we can all die together!"

Standing idly by, while Regina and Hook work against the tide, Cora comments dryly, "Take it easy, darling. None of you are dead, yet."

"Yet, being the operative word." Hook imparts with a grunt. "In case you haven't noticed. They're not bloody finished yet!"

Giving up on the manual labor, Regina waves a hand in agitation. When the supply of dark magic is too low to accommodate her wishes, she gives up the charade and, using light magic – much to her mother's dismay - she installs a massive drain in the floor and then begins magically shifting debris too heavy for Hook to relocate even with help.

When the iron chains that lead from Hercules' wrists to the ceiling work their way loose from the crumbling stone roof, and the young demigod falls to the floor limp with exhaustion, Regina has to stop what she's doing and grab Mary Margaret to halt her from rushing in through the door."

"No! Not yet!"

"Let me go, Regina! He's hurt!"

"Let Poseidon make sure he's free, first. Then, we get out of here, when we're all safe, we'll tend to him. He's already dead, Snow. They can't kill him again."

When the massive leg irons around his ankles snap free. Poseidon relents, and Zeus picks his son up from the floor, chains and all, and wades through the receding water toward the door as if the load he carries is equal to the weight of a little girl's rag doll. He slips sideways through the partially opened door and moves several feet down the long corridor, his son's chains trailing behind and scraping horrendously against the stone floor.

Once Zeus stops walking, Regina turns and magically sinks another drain in the floor some twenty feet behind them while the god of thunder and lightning begins magically removing his son's heavy iron restraints. Then, while Mary Margaret holds her friend's hand and assures him that everything will be alright in just a few minutes, Regina kneels beside his father and immediately begins healing the wounds she can see, bathing them in light magic, as she worries over the internal wounds she knows exist, even if she can't see them.

As the others gather around, standing watch, Emma kneels beside her mother, without needing to be axed, and joins in. Trying to comfort her mother's obvious distress, as well as increase her own connection to the young demigod, she takes hold of one of Mary Margaret's hands as she uses the other to aid Regina in the healing process.

When all the chains have been removed, Zeus joins the two women concerned with mending his son's physical wounds. "Poseidon's dark power created these wounds. I may not be able to heal each one completely, but with these fine women here to offset the difference, you should be fine in no time, my boy."

Hercules nods clumsily as his body shakes; racked with the force of his violent coughing. He expels copious amounts of water from his chest while doing his best to offer them apologetic glances in the brief breaks between coughing fits.

"Don't worry about it, Herc." Mary Margaret eases him onto his side. You make all the mess you want! Better out than in! Besides, it's not like any of us is dry!"

Still tending to wounds, Regina looks up without stopping. She glances at the faces of her friends and family and realizes that two of them are missing. In a casual tone of voice, she says, "I knew it was too quiet. Anybody know where Hades and Zelena have gone to?"

"Doesn't matter." Zeus answers without taking his eyes off his son. "His power supply is all but tapped out and he's tethered to this world until I say differently. Wherever he is, he's not far, and he can't be up to anything too dastardly. He hasn't enough power to cause any real trouble anymore. He's probably taken that little redheaded snippet he's married to someplace safe." Zeus glances briefly at the massive drain Regina put in the floor, and the water flowing through it "I hope this cavern doesn't go much deeper. If it does, I hope there's nothing living on the lower decks that is magically shielded from my omnipotent perception, because if there is any living thing below us, then you've just drowned it, dear sister."

Regina thinks it over for a moment and then shrugs. "If Hades has any living being sunk lower in the ground than his own lair, then something tells me it's not being I would want to encounter. I'll try not to feel bad if it doesn't survive!"

When a water-logged, but much improved, Hercules pushes himself up on his elbows, the first thing he does is reach out and gently touch Mary Margaret face. "Hello, old friend. It's wonderful to see you again, but I must say I wish it was any place but here."

She smiles, drawing special attention from both her daughter and Regina. "I won't be here much longer. I'll be going home, but first, we must get you home. You have to tell us what's holding you here." Sensing, finally, that she won't hurt him, she throws her arms around him for a warm, if somewhat soggy hug."

His father nods encouragingly. "You'll have to resolve your own issues, son. As much as I'd like too, I cannot do that for you." Zeus gestures as he talks. But these people have assured me that they will be of assistance to you in any way that they can." He makes a slightly less than formal introduction. "This is Regina. She is your uncle's wife's sister, and these good people are her friends and family."

Hercules raises a curious eyebrow. "Regina? From the Enchanted Forest? The Evil Queen?"

Without hesitation, Regina offers to shake his hand. "That's me!"

Hercules glances at his father in an obvious state bewilderment as he returns her handshake. "No offense to Her Majesty but, since when does evil royalty use light magic."

Regina laughs freely. "None taken!" She then wrinkles her nose and declares, in a voice that implies she's sharing a secret, "It confuses me too."

Zeus chuckles boldly for a single moment before all frivolity leaves his face and he looks pointedly at Cora with unmistakable displeasure and tells his son, "Regina was never meant to be just one or the other. She was always fated to walk in both the dark and the light. Unfortunately, she was led astray by a misguided self-important parent who tried to deprive Regina of her own destiny, for her own narcissistic advantages. However, at long last, she has risen above her mother's influence. It's giving her some trouble, but she is finding herself…"

Cora interrupts with blatant hostility. "I refuse to be offended, or take parenting advice, from a father who has sired his own nieces and nephews."

Turning his most unforgiving gaze on her, Zeus shrugs and quietly counters, "And I, Madam, will not be shamed for that; certainly not by a woman whose own child has to fear reprisals for the simple act of behaving like a decent individual." Giving his full attention back to his son, Zeus continues, " As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, after what I've witnessed in the last few days, I'm more confident than ever that Regina will find her own destiny."

"Well, with that glowing recommendation, I'm glad you're here Regina." Hercules attempts a smile. "There are still a few things holding me here. One is Meg. I won't leave here until I have her at my side. The other is that damn dog!"

Regina groans in dismay. "I don't know who Meg is, but you can fill us in. We'll help with the search." She looks around, seeking confirmation, and smiling when the rest of her group nods their consent before she continues. "Now… By the words 'damn dog' I assume you mean that ugly, three-headed, foul smelling, monstrosity known as Cerberus."

"Yep. That's the dog!" Hercules confirms with grim enthusiasm.

Regina snaps her fingers, magically drying, not just her own, but everybody else's clothes as well. Next, she slaps her own thighs in frustration – wincing when she unintentionally comes into contact with her own stitches. Pushing the pain aside, she rises to her feet with determination. "Well then, come on!" She sighs irritably. "I knew I wasn't going to get out of this forsaken place without going another round with that beast!"

 **Chapter 48: Cerberus**

Zeus walks along with the group quietly listening; observing without interrupting.

"Do we have to kill him?"

As she stomps irritably in the direction of the cave where she and Robin first arrived, Regina gives Mary Margaret a look sharp enough to draw blood and declares with biting sarcasm. "First, don't anthropomorphize that beast! That dog is not a 'him.' That dog is an 'it!' Secondly, what do you want to do with it? Take it home and teach it to play fetch? Great, it'll use the top of the town hall building for its nice comfy bed!"

Hercules holds in a chuckle. "Regina's right, Snow. That dog is not a pet. Don't humanize it. It's not one of your harmless little blue birds."

"You only said you were supposed to defeat it. Defeat doesn't necessarily mean kill."

"I know that, Snow, but every time I get near the thing, it tries to eat me! A guy has a right to defend himself."

Robin speaks up. "Not that I've deliberately done research on the subject, but according to what I've read, and if what I have read is correct, the only way to kill that thing is to hit all three heads at once. No offense, but I don't care if you are half-god, no one man is going to hit all three heads simultaneously. I might be able to hit two in rapid succession, but all three, in the same instant, no one can do that. Not without a helluva lot of magic on their side."

Regina nods. "Robin's right. Maybe I could learn to hit two simultaneously if I had time to practice, but even with years of practice, hitting all three, at precisely the same moment - That's a pretty tall order."

Emma shakes her head. "You guys are all thinking unilaterally. As in, what if one person does the job. The dog, the thing, the monster, whatever you want to call it - It has three different heads! Why can't a minimum of three different people fire upon it?"

"Because, I'm the one who's supposed to do it." Hercules says flatly.

"Who says? Is there a rule book? Show me where it says you must do this alone. You personally? Where is it written that friends can't help you along the way?"

Hercules shakes his head. "That thing can't mortally wound me. I'm already dead. None of you are. I won't have the anyone else getting hurt."

Emma shakes her head again. "If someone gets hurt, we can fix it. Good friends make good backup. You know this is why the gods lost dominion over Earth, right? You guys all think that because you're big bad gods or half-gods…" she gestures with deference to Hercules. "That you can do it all - all by yourselves. I know. I get it. I'm not a god, and I used to think that too. I don't need anyone. I can do it by myself. And, maybe you can; but all by yourself gets lonely. Sometimes, it even gets painful. Let somebody help you once in a while. Life will certainly be less lonely, and occasionally, less painful."

Hercules starts to speak, then snaps his mouth shut. Even if he wanted to argue with her, he's not sure how to.

Regina sighs in mild frustration. "Even if three of us decide to take on that animal, it would still require an awful lot of practice. It's hard enough for one person to synchronize three separate strikes. Three different people striking in perfect unity. The kind of precision you're talking about takes years to acquire, Emma."

Mary Margaret returns to her original question. "I still go back to; do we have to kill him? Cerberus may not be a nice dog, but he's still a living thing. Killing is bad." She adds with forced patience, "You're supposed to know this by now, Regina."

Regina rolls her eyes. "I know that killing is bad. That does not mean that I'm not going to defend myself or the people I care about. That thing you don't want to kill tried to turn Robin into dog kibble. And, before you ask, we didn't do anything to antagonize it. All we tried to do was walk out of a cave. That dog put more than one whole in the man I'm going to marry. Excuse me if I don't feel like cuddling with it.

"You turned a hideous flying monkey that was attacking you into a child's toy."

Regina nods aggressively. "Because there was a child in front of me. It was a spur of the moment decision. The thing was after me. My first instinct, my knee jerk reaction, was to hurl a fireball at it; but Roland got in the way. He was terrified; he froze. I didn't think it would be a good thing to cremate a living creature in front of a child who is barely more than a toddler… I thought it might be the kind of thing that would give him nightmares… You know, for the rest of his life!"

Snow stares incredulously "You had time to think of all that in the spur of the moment?"

Cora smiles with moderate pride. "She's sharpest, she works best, when she's under pressure."

Robin scowls. "Yes, she does. And I may be proud of her for that. You shouldn't be. Not when it was you who applied all that pressure. No child should have to grow up that way. You should be ashamed of yourself! Besides, I have no doubt that if you had been in her place, if you had bothered to save my son at all, you would have incinerated the thing in front of him and then used his nightmares to teach him some sort of cruel lesson! Regina may work best under pressure, but she didn't choose to do as she did because of pressure. She chose to spare Roland that horror out of love. You can't take credit for teaching her that! She learned that from her father."

Cora takes a ½ step back in shock "How dare you speak to me in that tone of voice!"

"Your Majesty. "He begins snidely. "I will speak my mind anyway I choose! Especially when it comes to your daughter."

You're lucky my daughter has just about drained this place dry of dark ma…"

"Enough!" Regina shouts. "I will not referee between the two of you. I do not care what he says to you, Mother. He can say any damn thing he likes! You will not threaten him! Do it again, and I will sweet talk Poseidon into putting you in one of those horrible wet torture chambers. Don't think I won't!" She whirls and points hotly at Robin. "And you, don't be stupid! Do not antagonize her! Don't make me worry about you. Not now! We have enough to deal with at the moment!"

Hook clears his throat. "I'm afraid she's right. I know we're all a little worked up right now but, if we're going to confront this animal, we can't help each other if we're already busy tearing each other apart."

Nodding, Mary Margaret brings the conversation back around to the point where it derailed. "I've noticed, Roland still packs that stuffed monkey around with him."

Regina shrugs. "He likes it. So, what? You're not suggesting I start a collection for him; a stuffed toy monkey and a three-headed dog?" She scowls at the absurdity of it. "Besides, I did that using dark magic. I'm uncomfortable with the idea of using the last of what's in the collective."

Emma squints. "Why, wouldn't that be a good thing?"

Regina shrugs again. "I don't know. When there's no more dark power left… What happens to the collective itself? Not the magic in the collective, but the magical vessel – for lack of knowing what else to call it - where the power is stored? Hades created it. I don't know what happens to it. If the collective itself is destroyed because it no longer serves a purpose once it's empty, then what happens to the power it would have held. Do the residents of the underworld suddenly find themselves in possession of their own powers again. And. if that happens, how many of them are dark? How many of them are going to actively come after us before we get out of here? I know my son would say good always wins, but we're a little outnumbered here, people. The collective serves two purposes. It feeds Hades, but let's not forget, it also keeps people under control here. If at all possible, I would prefer not to have this place fall into complete bedlam before we leave."

Mary Margaret nods. "Okay, so just to be on the safe side, let's not borrow trouble. Don't use the last of what sits in the collective. All that means is, don't use dark magic, which probably means no shadow casting either since that requires the use of both light and dark." She offers Regina a cheeky smile. A little more practice with the light stuff couldn't hurt."

Regina scowls and hisses quietly, "I don't like you!"

Unaffected, Mary Margaret shrugs and lightly tosses back, "Yes, you do!"

Approaching the cave, Regina turns her gaze to Hercules. "Are you sure you're up for this?" She waves a hand, and magically, a bow appears in his, along with a quiver full of arrows slung over his shoulder. "Just a short while ago you were literally in a perpetual state of drowning."

"Yes, but I've been tended to; most diligently." Hercules smiles. "If you all are really this eager to help…" He exhales dramatically. "I'd be a fool to turn it down. The last time I saw Megara, Cerberus had her trapped in the cave. I don't know if she's still there, but there's only one way to find out."

Robin offers, "When Regina and I arrived earlier this week, I went scouting in the cave. I didn't happen upon anyone else, but it's a very big cave and if she was aware of my presence, she may have been hiding. She doesn't know me. She wouldn't have any reason to trust me."

"Exactly, not everyone down here is trustworthy. She knows that."

Hook queries. "Who exactly is this Megara? I don't mind lending my hook to the endeavor, but if I'm risking my neck for someone, I like to know a little something about them; especially if I'm about to bear my neck to the fangs of some gargantuan hell hound."

"She's a soul in torment, and she's the woman I love. She was trapped here by an evil sorceress. Hades made a deal with her. If she would seduce me and steal my godly strength with her kiss, he would set her free. But, she fell in love with me. She told Hades to shove it. She's been stuck here ever since. I can't leave without her. I won't."

Mary Margaret smiles at her friend. "Okay then; I guess that makes us your dog catchers. We get the dog. You get the girl."

Hercules flashes his grin. "Hardly seems fair, but I will admit that everything I have tried previously has failed. Let's try it your way, Snow."

Regina steps into the lead as the cave comes into view. Mary Margaret, Robin, and Hercules fan out behind her; each of them readying arrows while the rest of the group falls back a safe distance. Glancing over her shoulder, Regina says, "If this doesn't work, you guys better not blame me… And more importantly, you better not miss. If Cujo eats me, I am going to haunt your asses!"

Mary Margaret encourages. "It'll work. You've done it before. Just do it again."

As a low rumbling growl is heard and the earth under their feet begins to tremble under the weight of the beast's heavy stride, Regina glances over her shoulder to make sure that Emma also stands at the ready; prepared to be a distraction if she should need one.

Emma, in turn, silently shoots her a look that says, "Yeah, yeah I'm here. Let's get this over with."

When the hideous monstrosity comes into view, still 100 feet away, Robin and Hercules hold steady; already familiar with the monster. Mary Margaret, who is not familiar, does not turn tail and run, after all, she's done battle with ogres. However, the sight of the beast, with its absolutely mammoth size, does cause her to take an involuntary step backward before she squares her shoulders and steadies her aim.

Regina turns one last time. She conjures light magic in the palm of her hand. Holding it there, she exhales gently as if she's blowing out a candle. Sending out a single stream, she sets all three arrows aflame.

Either the sight of flames or the scent of smoke makes the beast hesitant. His ominous growl turns into a foul-smelling bark that bends the treetops, but he doesn't run at them like before. Instead, his angry approach is weary."

"Looks like he remembers you." Robin comments dryly.

"Good." Regina hisses as Robin tells the rest of the group with a grin. "The last time they encountered each other, Regina set his bloody tail on fire."

"Regina!" Mary Margaret scolds.

She growls defensively. "He… tried… to… eat… Robin! And, so help me, Mary Poppins! If you say the words 'Poor puppy!' I will set you on fire!"

As the black three-headed hell hound gets closer, sniffing the air cautiously, the ground trembles more violently with each step he takes.

Tired of waiting, Regina yells with antagonism. "Aww, c'mon, Fluffy! Here I am! Are you hungry!"

Snarling, the dog lunges, coming at her straight-on with powerful, ground-shuddering strides that pepper the earth with spidering cracks.

Once again, astounded beyond belief that anything this big can move as fast as the dog does, Robin takes aim at the center head from his place directly behind Regina. He waits for her to act, sensing that she's waiting, drawing the animal in, timing her assault.

She waits until the hellishly dark animal is moving too fast to rethink his approach. When she is certain that he is locked in, the victim of his own tunnel vision, she fires.

Trusting her back up and leaving the heads to them, she aims - as she was trained to do so many years - for the heart, just slightly left of center in the beast's message chest.

The reverberating blast of her power knocks him backward on his heels but does not take him down. He skids in reverse, digging up dirt as he slides. Then, when his massive feet finding purchase once more, he stubbornly runs in place, furiously refusing to give up. When he advances two steps, Regina thinks of the man directly behind her who will be next in line if she falls.

The secondary blast, fueled by her affection for him, doesn't knock the dog backward. Instead, it envelops him, wraps around him and holds him. His ominous bark is slow to quiet but then it shifts. For a moment, he yelps, but not as if he is in pain. It's more like the sound of confusion as if he's not fully certain what's happening to him.

All of them, including Regina, watch in utter astonishment as the colossal beast gradually begins to shrink in size. This is expected by all. What is not expected, is the moment when the dog yelps pitifully and its three heads slowly merge into one.

Still just as shocked as the rest of them, Regina stares wide-eyed. This isn't at all what she intended, but as her body and her mind begin to grow tired with the weight of her exertion, she holds steady, willing herself to go on as the dog gets smaller. When he's no longer taller than the cave he guards, she begins to doubt that he's going to change more than he already has. Yes, the monkey was smaller, but the change was immediate. When he's no bigger than a Clydesdale, Regina knows with absolute certainty that she's not going to be adding him to anyone's toy box. Still, she holds firm.

Power continues to flow from her, and she's not even consciously aware that she's hit her knees until she feels Robin's hand come to rest softly on her shoulder. As his touch inspires yet another boost in power, Regina murmurs with grumpy affection. "I'm okay. Get back. You're too close."

Aware of her fatigue and not listening to her protests; Robin motions Emma forward.

"Help her!" He implores.

Emma nods, but before she can offer even the smallest amount of magical support the final increase in Regina's power causes the dog's size to shrink suddenly from that of a horse to that of a grand mastiff.

She stops when she can go on no longer. Drained, she slumps backward; her shoulders resting securely against Robin's thighs.

As he kneels and hugs her from behind, she whispers, her voice soft with fatigue, "That's it. He's not getting any smaller." She gestures listlessly with her hands. "That's the best I can do."

"The best you can do is bloody amazing!" Robin assures chuckling, as the young mastiff before them turns and looks at his own tail in obvious amazement; it's injury apparently mended by her efforts.

At first, the dog, whose color has shifted from obsidian black to a warm sandy brown, steps forward hesitantly. Then, feeling renewed, he bounds on gangly legs and feet too big for his body. He happily spins in a clumsy circle before charging forward exuberantly. With over-gown puppy affection, he licks Regina across the face before she can stop him.

"Hey no!" She covers her face with one arm and pushes him away with the other while her friends laugh warmly.

"Stop that!" She orders, coming back to her knees. "Get off me! Sit!"

When the dog, does indeed sit, Emma grins. "Aww, hey look, Regina, he's smart. He knows how to sit!"

Robin places a gentle hand under her elbow; offering assistance as she comes unsteadily to her feet and turns to glower at Emma. "It's not rocket science, Swan! Any mutt can be taught to sit."

The dog wags its tail and looks at Regina with warm beseechingly eyes.

Regina closes her eyes for a moment and inhales deeply before opening them again, squaring her shoulders, and announcing irritably with the flourish of her hands, "Okay Hercules, come on! Let's go find your girl! The sooner we do, the sooner I can go home and take a nap!"

Mary Margaret giggles. "What's the matter, Regina? Tired?"

She scowls. "You turn the hell hound from purgatory into an overgrown lap dog and see if it doesn't make you tired!"

When nobody moves, she declares, "Well come on, don't stand around waiting for the grass to grow! Move it, people! He's got a damsel to rescue. Let's go already!"

Laughing, they step toward the mouth of the cave only to be halted again when Regina says sternly to her uninvited companion, "Oh no! You stay here! You are not coming with me!"

The 90-pound puppy sits and whimpers pitifully.

"Oh no, Mister, don't you start that… And don't look at me like that either. You stay!"

Robin glances at the dog and then turns to his fiancée. "Regina, love, we can't leave him behind."

"Oh yes, we can!" She declares with absolute certainty. "He belongs here."

Robin persists quietly. "Are you sure about that. Look at him. Even if he did belong here. He doesn't anymore. He can't defend himself like this. He's just a big friendly oaf. We have to take him us. If we leave him here, he'll get eaten by a dragon."

Regina shrugs. "The dragon is dead. He went into the river of lost souls."

"How do you know there aren't more dragons down here. We can't leave him. What if Cruella decides to make him into a hat and a pair of gloves?"

Regina turns and scowls at the dog once more. After a long heavy beat, she relents and points a finger. "Okay. I hate that bitch. She let me think she was going to kill my son. I will not let her turn you into fashion accessories. You can come with me, but if you relieve yourself in my house, or if you chew up even one pair of my shoes, Mister; I swear, I really will feed you to a dragon!"

With Robin's hand in hers and the rest of the group behind them, Regina ventures into the cave with her new four-legged companion at her side. She tries to grimace, but winds up smiling, ever so slightly, when Robin kisses her temple and breathes quietly for her ears only, "Roland is going to love this!"

 **Chapter 49: Mass Exodus**

"Meg?" Hercules raises his voice in inquiry. "Megara honey, are you in here? It's safe. You can come out."

It takes several long seconds for her to respond, but at length, the slender young woman with the sandy hair that is closer to red than auburn appears just inside the archway to one of the cave's many chambers. She moves slowly using the walls for support. "Hercules?" She calls out hoarsely; her voice cracking as she struggles to speak louder than she can. She's tired, wounded and dirty, but the smile that graces her lips when she catches sight of him is nothing short of glorious. "Hercules; it's you. You made it in. You finally figured out how to get rid of that dog!"

He chuckles quietly and gestures to the mastiff at Regina's side. "No, I didn't. But, some friends helped me out."

"Friends? In this place? She glances first at the dog, and then at the people around him. "This is that dog?" She points in wild wonder. "But how?"

Feeling the initial effects of her exertion, Regina sighs; her breathing still slightly labored. "It was no big deal. Just some good magic." Her eyes grow wide. "A whole lot of good magic."

Meg limps clumsily into Hercules's waiting embrace. Safe in his arms, at last, she rests her head against his shoulder and smiles peacefully. "Thank you; whoever you are. Thank you all. I don't even know how long I've been stuck in this cave. He's been trying to get to me for so long. If you hadn't come, he would've gone on trying. He went away for a while. "She turns her gaze back to him. "I thought something had happened to you."

Hercules squeezes her shoulders. "I got a little held up. Sorry, I worried you. He gives her a quick once over. "You're hurt."

She shrugs; leaning into him for support. "Mostly, they're just scratches, but I'm sure my ankle is sprained; if not worse. I turned it pretty badly when I tripped over something running from that dog." She points in frustration. "Only, he was a lot bigger then. Bigger and uglier. With a couple more heads. I gotta say, he's much improved."

When Emma steps forward and doesn't quite touch her as she offers to heal wounds, Megara inches deeper into Hercules's embrace.

"It's okay, honey. She won't hurt you. She's trying to help you."

Meg watches in astonishment as light magic glows from Emma's hands, and her minor wounds begin to disappear rapidly; as if they'd never existed at all. She returns her gaze to Hercules in curiosity. "Where did you say you've found these people." She asks while Emma kneels before her and tends to her severely swollen ankle.

"Inside a torture chamber."

Her eyes go wide. "And, you trust them?"

He offers her a charmingly lopsided grin. "Sure. Who do you think got me out of the torture chamber." When she frowns, he pats her shoulder. "Nothing to worry about. They patched me up too." To the rest of the group he says, "She's not usually this skittish. In fact, she is normally rather feisty."

"I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be rude. It just that the last person I saw with the kind of power that could heal wounds or turn monsters into harmless overgrown puppies - well, that person wasn't very nice."

Mary Margaret smiles. "You don't have to apologize. I'm Snow." She gestures as she talks. This is my daughter Emma, her boyfriend, Hook, our friends Robin and Regina, and Regina's mother Cora. And this..." She pauses; deferring to Hercules.

"Meg… This is my dad; Zeus. Dad, this is Megara."

Zeus smiles sedately and nods his head in greeting. Meeting you is a privilege and an honor. Do you prefer Megara or Meg?"

She shrugs. "I will answer to whichever you prefer, sir, but my friends call me Meg."

"Well, Meg, it is then. Would you like to leave this place, Meg?"

"Very much so, sir… but I won't leave without him."

"Well boy? Time to make a choice. The two of you can come home to Olympus, or you can both return to Earth." He turns to Regina and raises an eyebrow. "I'm sure that Storybrooke will welcome you; will it not, Mayor Mills?"

"Of course. It's a quaint little town in the middle of a forest in Maine. We have scenery, the ocean, and some desirable real estate to choose from. Once we get there, if you decide to go, you find it looks remarkably similar to this place… Only a lot less like purgatory and a great deal more like…. She pauses thoughtfully; choosing her words. "The Bridges of Madison County meets the Enchanted Forest."

Meg smiles. "I have no idea what you mean by The Bridges of Madison County; but, it sounds rather picturesque."

Nodding, Snow chuckles. "It is. And I wouldn't have done nearly as adequate job describing it in so few words."

Hercules looks to the woman in his arms. "Well, what will it be? I can show you the world where I grew up… With a little help from Dad. Or, the simple splendor of Olympus? I will warn you, though; both places have their hardships. Life on earth is full of trials and tribulations that don't exist on Olympus. However, I have an enormous family. If its peace and quiet you want, we won't get it up there on the mountain."

Warm, deep laughter rumbles from Zeus's chest. "My son speaks no lies, Meg. On Olympus, life is an awful, beautiful, mess. We can offer you peace and tranquility in very small doses, but it comes with a rather large side of crazy when it comes to the family. We're always either making love or making war. We don't seem to have a happy medium."

Meg squints. "I realize for most people this sort of thing probably isn't possible… But, with you being Zeus and all… I'd really like to go back to Earth with him. Hercules and I wanted to get married before we wound up down here. If he chose to return to Earth… Could we maybe… Honeymoon on Olympus? With your permission, of course."

Zeus raises an eyebrow and then smiles placidly when his son nods in quiet consent. He raises his hands to the sky. "It shall be so."

The young couple disappears from view in a warm radiant flash of light.

"Oh wow. Okay, just like that." Emma breathes in astonishment.

Zeus chuckles. "Yes, Ms. Swan. Just like that."

He turns to Regina. If you're ready?"

"Yes, I'm more than ready, but the rest of our group… They are back at… Well, down here, it's my mother's house."

Cora scowls hideously, "You let all those do-gooders into our house."

Regina shrugs. "No… I didn't." She declares as Robin takes her warmly by the hand and then bows deeply, claiming credit for breaking and entering with a small amount of pride, and a rather notable lack of contrition."

Cora glares at him with dark hostility. "You broke into my house?"

"Yes but, upon my honor, I took nothing but a memory."

"But how? The place is nearly sealed by dark magic."

Regina can't help but chuckle quietly at the look of total consternation on her mother's face. "The operative word there, Mother, is 'nearly.' He's had plenty of practice breaking into that house. He does it often enough. Slips into my securely locked house in the middle of the night. I keep telling him, that's a good way to die a painful death…" She shrugs comically. "He just won't stay away. I'm starting to think maybe he likes me; or something."

"Ugh, Regina! When I want the details of your nocturnal rendezvouses I will ask for them!"

Regina shrugs again. "Ask all you like. I have no intention of sharing."

Cora looks to Zeus. "Will you please send my daughter home!"

"Not just yet." Regina holds up a hand.

"You don't have to be with the rest of your group," Zeus answers because he knows what she's going to say. "I can send you all back home from here. Everyone will arrive safe and sound. I've already spoken with Marguerite Darrington. I understand you will be returning home..." He glances at Cora and says discreetly. "Plus one … or is it two?" He glances at the dog.

Regina smiles. "Yes, our group; plus, two. I do hope Maggie didn't get herself into any trouble; doing what she did?"

"None at all. She could not have done it without my consent."

Regina squares her shoulders and clears her throat as moisture glistens in her eyes. "Well then, you have my gratitude. I don't deserve it."

"Ah, but you will, Regina. You will."

Out of the loop, and not liking it at all, Cora demands, "Who is Marguerite Darrington, and what has she done for Regina?"

"She's no one of consequence to you, Mother. I assure you. She was just a humble steward's daughter in life. The only thing she ever had of value, was something you never wanted."

Moving on, before her mother can press for more information, Regina returns her full attention to Zeus. "What happens to this place when we leave… Assuming, Hades is still permitted to leave; given the condition we found your son in."

"Yes, despite my… supreme displeasure… I'm still going to honor the agreement. I don't think Hades will fare well as a mortal. Quite frankly, I think he's earned the experience that's about to befall him." Zeus smiles with wicked anticipation. "I think this is going to be fun to watch."

Regina smiles; finally catching a bit of resemblance between the two brothers. One walks in darkness. The other, in light. But they're both a little drunk on their own power - something she, herself, is intimately familiar with. "You'll send them to the apartment in New York - and this place, the people here - they will be okay?"

"They will be better than okay. With my brother gone, at least temporarily, this place should return to normal."

"Normal? You mean this isn't how it typically is?" She gestures to the underworld around them.

Zeus shakes his head. "Not it all. Hades made it look this way for your sister about two years ago. I think it was a bit of a wedding present; his attempt at giving her some of what you have. This place isn't meant to look like purgatory or hell on earth. It's supposed to be a little like… Well, are you familiar with the Chinese concept of limbo?"

Regina squints. "Only in the vaguest sense."

"Limbo is supposed to be a peaceful place where souls in a state of unrest can come to sort out the things that trouble them; the things that keep them from making the final journey onward. This place was actually quite pretty before my brother married your sister. With the two of them gone, things will be rebalanced; restored. In a very short while, both Hades and Zelena will arrive in New York with all they need. However, before they do…" He concludes with a bit of an edge in his voice. "I intend to have a word with my brothers. Would you like to leave here before that happens?"

"If thunder, lightning, brooding dark clouds, driving rain, flash floods and hurricane force winds come along with the simple act of you having a few words with your brothers, then, yes sir." Regina nods eagerly. "I think we would all like, very much, to leave this place before that happens."

Her friends all nod in agreement.

"Very well, but before you go - You should know – Robin, your young man, Roland, has slipped away from both of his appointed guardians. Both the blue fairy and Little John are rather frantic just now looking for the little tyke. Not to worry, though…" Zeus pats the air in a calming fashion when worry fills the eyes of both Robin and Regina. "Call them both as soon as you are home and relieve their distress. He's just missing the two of you. He wandered away from them, found his way to your place. He got hungry on the journey there, so he helped himself to a few apples from that magnificent tree in your backyard. With his belly full, he got sleepy. You'll find the wayward lad, safe and sound, curled up asleep in Regina's bed."

Regina sighs with relief and then squints. "I'm glad he's there, and that he's safe, but how did he get into the house? It's locked up."

Zeus smiles mysteriously before sending them on their way. "Ask Robin."


	3. Part 3: A Royal Wedding & Some Babies

**Part III: A Royal Wedding & Some Babies**

* * *

 **Chapter 50: Homecoming**

* * *

Out in the hallway, Hades takes in the building around him with a mixture of dread and despondency. The badly peeling paint job that is at least a few decades old, along with the ancient cracked linoleum flooring thoroughly depress him; as if he weren't feeling bad enough already.

With her arm around his waist, Zelena shoves the key in the lock and then pushes the door open with the toe of one high heeled shoe. Once inside the small living room, she walks him to the couch and gently eases him into a sitting position. As she studies him with concern, he studies the few cardboard boxes haphazardly stacked in one corner of the room. The meager amount of possessions Zeus would agree to transport to this temporary – Hades tries to think of the right word for what he knows he's in for – this temporary what? Hardscrabble existence? It doesn't matter. Zelena and the baby are worth this and much more. He only wishes he didn't feel as if he has been trampled in Pamplona at the running of the bulls event. Not that he has ever been trampled by one bull, much less an entire herd of them but still, he's acutely aware of how the matador must feel after having not stayed one step ahead of the multi-ton beasts.

"Hades are you certain you're alright?"

"Yes, don't worry about me. This is hardly the first time I've gone a few rounds with my brothers. I just don't remember if hurting this bad last time."

Zelena pats his knee and offers gently, "Maybe last time you were a little bit younger?"

He laughs. "Age doesn't affect us the way it does mortals. It takes centuries for us to feel the effect of a decade."

"Try not to forget that you, yourself, are among the mortals now. It will be an adjustment for you. Come to think of it, that's probably why you don't feel so good. This may not be the first time you've sparred with your brothers, but it will be the first time you've had to live through the aftermath as a human."

"You're kidding me. This is what it feels like? If that's the case, then why are human beings always fighting with each other? I would think they would want to avoid feeling this way."

"Most every human being is angry about something."

"Like you and your sister?"

"Ugh! We just got here. Can we avoid talking about Regina for a few days?"

"Of course, darling. I'm sorry I brought it up."

"Shall I make you something to eat?"

This time it's his turn to groan. "No thank you. Food doesn't sound like a very good idea right now."

His wife eyes him with concern. "Are you nauseous?"

Hades shrugs. "I don't know. I've never been nauseous before; What's that like?"

Zelena goes wide-eyed and then squints. "I'm not quite sure how to describe it. You just feel like… Well, like you need to wretch." She scowls. "Maybe I should take you to the hospital."

"No, no, I'll be alright. Besides, I'm really not up to trying to explain to some physician how it is that I don't know whether or not I'm nauseous."

"Oh dear, that could be rather sticky; couldn't it? The words, 'I'm a god and my powers have been temporarily stripped...' Something tells me that might land you in a padded room."

"Yes, please spare me that indignity."

"Well, forgive me for this, my love, but you do look a bit worse for wear. "How about, you stay here and rest. Zeus said he would stock the refrigerator. You may not be hungry, but I am. I do wish you were feeling better because I feel fine. Not restless or irritable. I don't feel like crawling out of my own skin or like my head is going to erupt in flames at any second."

Hades pats her hand affectionately. "You go ahead then, find yourself something to eat."

As she steps into the kitchen, on her quest for sustenance, she calls over her shoulder, "Maybe your body is responding to, not just your altercation with your brothers, but also to the fact that you don't have your godly powers at the moment. Your body is used to being a vessel for them. Without them, I imagine you feel as if part of you is missing."

"What I feel most… is tired. No, actually, it's beyond tired. I feel drained."

"In that case, a few hours' sleep would probably help you immensely."

"Sleep?" Hades laughs drolly. "How very human." He sighs dismally.

He doesn't think he can possibly feel worse until a few minutes later when his favorite redhead returns from the kitchen carrying a bowl full of chocolate ice cream topped with banana peppers.

As she slurps a bit of the sweet creamy treat away from and bites into one of the firm, crunchy peppers, Hades leaves the couch at a run; slamming the bathroom door behind himself. Through the closed door, he can hear his wife chuckling quietly. He can picture her rubbing her own belly as she says quietly to their unborn child, "Your papa doesn't feel very well my little one."

Three hundred seventy miles away in Storybrooke, Maine, the realm-jumping travelers arrive home. In the time that it takes to blink, they find themselves standing on Regina's front walkway, alongside Hercules and Meg. Although somewhat disoriented by their new and unfamiliar surroundings, the couple's happy eyes glow warmly with anticipation.

Regina smiles at Robin. "Home." She says simply, and he nods.

David, Ruby, Regina's father, and his young namesake arrive three seconds behind them and they each experience a momentary disorientation; having been unaware that their time in the underworld was done.

David and his young grandson arrive in the midst of a conversation about a school project he's working on and then suddenly stop; perplexed by the change in location.

Henry is the first to acclimate to his surroundings and grin broadly. "Yes! We are home! You did it, Mom!" He hugs Regina exuberantly.

Returning his hug, she runs her fingers through his hair with affection. The soft chuckle that escapes her is finely laced with fatigue. "Not by myself, I didn't. We all did it."

While her father looks around, literally finding himself in a brand-new world, the rest of the group takes a moment to look her way.

A few seconds go by before Mary Margaret quietly prompts. "I expect we've all got some things that need doing. Where do we start, Madame Mayor?"

Too tired to bother smiling but forcing her best mayoral voice. Regina turns a slow circle, glancing at each one of them, before deciding. "Mary Margaret and David, you two go home. Be with Neal. Ruby, take Hercules and Meg by the diner. To them, she says, "Granny, who owns and operates the diner, also runs the local bed and breakfast. You can get a room, and she will see to it that you're fed for a few days until the two of you can manage to set up house. Tell her to send the bill for your room and board to me. Come to my office at the town hall tomorrow or the next day. We'll talk. Give me a chance to go through the town records. Everything you see around you came over with the first curse. If you don't already have a place here, we'll find you one. Anyone in town can tell you how to get to my office. Emma, you and Hook… go do whatever it is you do."

She turns to face her son and her father once more. Before she can say anything, the boy volunteers, "I'm going to take Grandpa for a walk. Show him the town." When her father nods agreeably, she cautions, "Okay, but stay together. Your grandfather is not used to things here. Daddy, be careful crossing the streets. Cars move a lot faster than horses do."

The king rolls his eyes and smiles affectionately. "I'm old Regina, not senile. At least, not yet, anyway."

She kisses his cheek brusquely. "I'm not implying that you are. I just got you back; so be careful – Storybrooke is very different than what you're used to, that's all."

"Yes dear." He smiles dutifully before stepping away with his grandson at his side.

Also stepping away, Mary Margaret turns with an afterthought. "Regina, we never did anything about Dorothy or her aunt."

"I know, but Dorothy's in Oz, there wasn't anything we could do about it from the underworld. And anyway, you know how sleeping curses work. Only her true love can wake her. Even I can't tamper with that."

Ruby whirls, suddenly stricken. "Dorothy's under a curse? Dorothy Gale?"

Mary Margaret squints as she nods. "You know her?"

Ruby nods, suddenly twice as pale as usual. "I spent some time in Oz when I was trying to – find myself. We met. We were…" she pauses with uncertainty. "We're friends."

Mary Margaret cocks her head to the side and gives one of her oldest friends an intuitive look. "You were friends?" She asks softly but pointedly.

Ruby nods eagerly but obviously with some discomfort. "Maybe… we were more than friends." She admits barely above a whisper. "I don't know… I thought maybe… But, when I had the chance, I was too scared to act. I chickened out."

Mary Margaret smiles softly. "Well… don't you think you owe it to her to go find out? Don't you think you owe it to yourself?"

"What? You mean go to Oz?"

Mary Margaret nods encouragingly.

"I don't know, Snow." She says, still hesitant. "What if it doesn't work?"

Regina steps in. "Stop beating yourself up, Ruby. You didn't put her under a sleeping curse. Zelena did that. And while you're at it, stop doubting yourself. If it doesn't work, then you haven't lost anything. If it does work, you have a chance at love. But, if you don't go, you'll spend the rest of your life wondering. Don't do that to yourself. Robin and I could've been together decades ago if only I'd had the courage to walk through a door."

No offense Regina but it's not that easy. I'm not saying walking through that door wouldn't have been hard. I know it would've been. It's just – well, I don't even have a door to walk through."

Glancing at Robin, Regina raises an eyebrow.

That's all he needs to understand her unspoken question before he extracts the Apprentice's wand from his inner jacket pocket. Smiling, he queries, "Next stop, the merry old land of Oz?"

"If I go, how will I get back? I can't take that thing with me. Only someone with magic, very powerful magic, can get it to work.

Regina shrugs. "Borrow Dorothy's shoes. If it doesn't work out or if you're not back in three days, I will come and find you. Emma can use the wound. Drop off Hercules and Meg, and then walk someplace quieter; someplace a little less populated than Main Street before you open the portal. I'd do it myself, but Robin and I have a lonesome little boy we need to see to."

Robin and Regina stand, hand in hand, on the front walk beside the mailbox watching until their friends are out of sight. Then, smiling at one another they sprint toward the house with their new four-legged companion at their side. Picking up on their enthusiasm, the pup bounds after them; chasing along as Regina unlocks the front door with nothing more than a wave of her hand. Once through it, she closes it behind them in the same fashion, and the three of them trot up the grand staircase to the second-floor landing, and down to the double doors at the opposite end of the hall where Regina quietly turns the spring-loaded gleaming brass door handles. Just inside the door, she slips out of her heels and nudges them aside with one foot so that they won't be a tripping hazard to the next person through the door. On silent feet, she glides across the rug and settles on the edge of the mattress. Laying down beside him, she pulls Roland's small body into her arms and waits for him to stir. It only takes seconds for his eyes to open. Rubbing sleep out of them with the backs of his small hands, he smiles and whispers. "Regina?"

"Roland?"

He continues to whisper. "Are you really here, or is my head making up stories while I sleep?"

Chuckling softly, she takes his small face in her hands and kisses it repeatedly.

Giggling, he lets her, until he has had enough, and then he pushes away gently. It isn't until he does that he sees his father standing at the foot of the bed.

His whole face lights up, and for a single moment, before scampering to Robin, he snuggles deeper into Regina's embrace and hugs her fiercely while declaring, "You brought him back to me!"

As he hurls himself into his father's waiting embrace, Regina laughs boldly. "Well, I told you I would!"

"I know! I remember." Roland declares as he clings to Robin. "But it was taking a long time, Regina! I missed you guys!"

Laughing, Robin scoops his boy up and moves to sit down on the bed beside Regina. "Sorry, about that, mi'boy. And we didn't mean to take so long. Things were just a little bit complicated. But, we're home now. We've missed you like mad, and we brought you a new friend." Robin gestures to the dog who has stopped just inside the doorway to sit and watch the reunion."

Roland's eyes stretch to twice their normal size. A dog? For me? You brought me dog!" Roland abandons the adults on the bed and runs to the mastiff puppy.

Smiling after his son, Robin tells the boy. "Well, you may have to share him with Regina. I think he's claimed her for his own."

Not listening to the grownups, Roland sinks to his knees in front of the dog and says happily, "Hello. I'm Roland! You wanna go outside and play?"

The mastiff promptly licks him across the face.

Laughing, Roland wipes his face with his shirt sleeve and says with delight, "He likes me!"

Regina chuckles sleepily, "Well of course he does. How could he not?"

"What's his name?"

"Cerberus." She yawns discreetly behind the back of a hand.

Roland scowls. "Sir, be… What?" He shakes his head emphatically. "No. That's not your name anymore. I don't like that name! We'll have to find you a new one."

Regina shrugs. "Fine by me. I don't like that name either.

Eagerly, Roland asks, "What do you want to call him, Regina?"

"You can pick." She says trying to stifle another yawn.

"Come on Roland let's take him out in the backyard and get to know him a little bit while you decide. Regina's had a tough couple of days. She needs a bit of rest."

Roland bolts for the door only to think better of it and quickly retrace his steps so that he can hug Regina tightly one more time. "Thanks for getting Daddy back for me, Regina, and thanks for the dog too! He's really big!"

Settling back against the pillows, Regina murmurs quietly. "It was no trouble Roland, and if you think he's big now, you should've seen him an hour ago!"

While Roland looks at the dog in wonder, she offers Robin a sensual, yet discreet invitation, "Come see me later?"

"Count on it, mi'lady." He whispers with a wink before closing the bedroom door and following his son out of the house.

 **Chapter 51: There's No Place Like It**

Henry walks into the kitchen and glances at the large salad bowl full of leafy greens that Robin is adding a hearty supply of vegetables to. "Henry said you ordered something called pizza, and that it is being delivered."

Robin nods. "Yes, but your daughter is not going to eat just pizza. She might eat one slice, maybe 1 ½ if she's really hungry, but she's going to want something a little more nutritious to go with it. She's rather selective about food."

The older man chuckles. "Now that, I know."

"Out of an extra-large pizza, she'll usually eat the one slice along with a nice big bowl of salad. Roland will eat two pieces but won't touch the salad unless it has his favorite dressing on it. Between dinner and leftovers, Henry will eat half the pie, and a good bit of the salad too. I know Regina wanted to make you dinner tonight, but I checked on her half an hour ago and she was still out cold. Henry will be back soon and both boys are going to be hungry. Plus, Roland tends to get a little grumpy when he's hungry. So, I thought I'd get started. She can save her dinner plans for another night when she's not quite so worn down."

Changing the subject, Robin asks, "How's the room? Did you get everything situated to your liking?"

"My room is fine. You, Henry, and that other fellow - what's his name? John? You did all the heavy lifting. Thank you. I'm certain I will be quite comfortable."

"Yes, he's commonly called Little John, and it was no trouble. Regina may want something different for you. I just didn't want her to have to arrange it all tonight. We brought some things down from the attic that look like they might be yours. Most of the clothing will need a good washing before its wearable but it will at least give you something to wear until she can take your shopping to get you some things that will help you blend in around here…eh… If blending in is something you're interested in."

"Yes, I do believe so. Unless there's some reason I shouldn't be interested."

Chuckling, Robin shakes his head. "It took me a few weeks, but I gave up my original attire once I started to settle in here. Quite frankly, these clothes are a great deal more comfortable than what Sherwood Forest, or even the Enchanted Forest, has to offer. But, if you want to, I think you can keep the clothing you're used to. In this town, we have wolves that can transform into humans, pirates, fairies, talking insects, and a little boy who used to be made of wood. In this town, no one will find your attire out of place or strange, no matter what you wear. Go anywhere else in this world, and you will need to make a few adjustments. That is, if you don't want people looking at you like you're sporting an extra head. I saw people in New York with the strangest rainbow-colored hair and piercings in some very unusual places, and these people looked at my boots and my bow and arrow oddly; as if they fit right in."

"My grandson said that outsiders don't often come here, that most people don't even know that Storybrooke exists."

Robin nods. "The town is protected by magic. You need access to magic just to arrive here. Those without it. pass right by and never even see the town. It's necessary, what with the town being full of magical beings. Most people in this world don't believe in magic. To most of them, you and I are nothing more than characters in a child's storybook. We exist solely in what they call fairy tales."

"Yes, I've been informed. Henry showed me his book. He also shared with me how frustrating it was for him knowing the truth when no one else believed, not even the people who live here. He says his mother, Emma, was the hardest to convince."

"I wasn't here back then. But if that's what Henry told you, I'm inclined to believe it. Emma's romantically involved with Captain Hook, and still, she tends to be one who needs to see in order to believe. There's not a lot she takes on faith. She's a skeptic by nature; one who has undergone some serious reformation in the last three years. However, she's in good company, almost everyone in this town has undergone some sort of reformation in those same three years."

"Including my daughter."

Robin nods in the affirmative. "A good deal to be sure. People of the Enchanted Forest seem to have a habit of believing that a person is only good, or bad. Which is, I suppose, why most people here will probably tell you that the difference in your daughter is night and day. However, you've said it yourself, the difference is not so much night and day as it is dark and light. I'm one of the few convinced that Regina has been… is… and always will be, Regina. She's just a better version of herself. I personally have never seen it as an either/or situation. We all have light in us. We all have darkness too. At any given moment, the one that dominates is the one you're feeding. She's done an awful lot of good in the last three years. In the last week, I think she's just about overdosed on it. That's why she is sleeping. She chooses to do good, and the fact that she chooses is the most important part, but it is still a choice. There are moments when it still doesn't come naturally. It's a fight, and after the week she's had, she's down for the count." He chuckles before adding wryly, "Temporarily."

The two men pause in their conversation when a small boy runs through the back door with a large puppy at his heels.

"Daddy, when's dinner?" Roland inquires. "Me and Big John are hungry!"

"Big John and I…" Robin corrects, patiently as he picks his son up and sits him down on top of the counter next to the kitchen sink. Turning the water on for him, he says, "Dinner will be here in just a few minutes." He hands the boy a few paper towels and a bottle of dishwashing liquid. "Clean up your hands and face a bit. You look like a wild man who lives in a forest."

"Daddy!" Roland giggles. "I do live in a forest!"

"Yes, I know, but if you look that way when Regina comes down to eat, she will make you take a bath before she lets you eat."

Already washing up, Roland shrugs. "It's okay. I don't mind. Her bathtub is huge, the soap smells nice, and her bathroom already has hot water in it. It just comes right out of the wall that way, Daddy. Plus, she lets me play with some of Henry's old bathtub toys."

"She does?"

"Yeah, she says he won't care, because he's too big for them now."

"I hope you said, thank you."

Roland nods emphatically. "Course I did."

"Good man." Smiling at the boy, with a discerning eye, he teases. "Wash some more. You missed a spot."

Before the conversation can continue, Regina enters the kitchen still looking rather sleepy despite the deep scowl on her face as she stares at the cellular phone in her hand. She squeezes it in frustration as though it were a neck she'd like to strangle. She groans, stomps her foot, and then, because she can't hurl a fireball through the phone line, she sticks her tongue out at the annoying device and drops it onto the kitchen counter as if holding it alone is too much of a nuisance to bare.

Catching all this, Roland giggles." What's a matter, Regina?"

Without needing to hear the answer, Robin says with quiet certainty. "She just got off the phone with her sister."

Laughter bubbles out of her, as she steps up close to Robin and tucks herself into his arms with her back to his chest despite the fact that he has returned to his salad preparation.

"Glancing down at her briefly, while he works with a knife, dicing cucumber, he asks, "What's funny, mi'lady."

"The fact that you know I was talking to my sister; without needing to be told."

"Yes well, you usually have that look on your face after talking to Zelena. Plus, sticking your tongue out is an act commonly reserved for siblings, or at the very least, people we are very close to; if not related to."

"How would you know? You only have one child." She pauses to smile warmly at Roland. "Or do you have brothers and sisters?"

He shrugs. "Not to the best of my knowledge."

Carefully picking a wedge of organic cucumber out of the salad bowl, topping it with feta cheese and wrapping it in a shredded spinach leaf, she pops it into her mouth and munches before asking, "What kind of an answer is that?"

"An honest one. Two years ago, you thought you were an only child. Two weeks ago, you didn't know you have a brother."

Regina nods thoughtfully in agreement. "Okay, I guess after watching me go through all that… 'not to the best of my knowledge' is more than acceptable." Then, knowing it will probably draw, a colorful objection, she smiles sweetly before telling him, "Your salad needs cranberries, and pecans instead of cucumbers."

"There are pecans in your pantry and cranberries in your refrigerator. You can put them on your own salad if you like. But leave my salad, and my cucumbers, alone woman!"

Regina shrugs easily as Roland rolls his eyes and informs a smiling, but curious, Henry, "They're just playing. They are kind of silly; like that. Regina doesn't like cucumbers, but she eats his food anyway."

"Of course, I do. It's a rare thing for a girl to find a man who will cook for her… and it you scrub your face anymore, sweet boy, you'll wash your freckles off."

"Daddy said I missed a spot. He said I looked like a wild man."

"Well, if you did; you don't anymore." She smiles and reaches out and runs her fingers affectionately through the boy's unruly curls.

"I assume you called your sister to check in. She and Hades must have arrived alright. What did she have to say?"

"Pfft... Nothing nice. Mary Margaret says I should treat her like family. She says that's what Zelena's problem is. She feels left out. I don't really want to, but it seems like maybe it's the sisterly thing to do, so I call to make sure they are okay. She's mad because I called. Yes, they're fine… Except Hades is sick. Apparently, his ungodly body is having a hard time adjusting to not having any godly powers. No, she doesn't need anything from me… And why can't I just leave her alone." Regina shrugs. "I can't win with her. No matter what I do, it's wrong. I leave her alone she tries to break us up. I call to check in, and she wails, 'Just leave me alone!"

"Her pride is probably wounded because her plan did not work. Between that and being back in New York plagued by pregnancy hormones; she's just unhappy."

"Robin, she's always unhappy."

He shrugs and winks. "So, just know that. Take it with a grain of salt."

Regina sighs as she looks around the room. "Where's my son?"

"He'll be back in a few minutes. "Little John came over to help us set up your father's room. On the way back to camp, he was going to stop for supplies. Henry walked with him."

Regina's eyes go wide before she raises an eyebrow. "You set up Daddy's room?"

"He's going to need a place to sleep tonight, love."

"Yes, I know. Thank you, but, I didn't even hear you."

"I'm not surprised. I think you were half a breath away from comatose."

Regina shrugs. Probably, I only woke up because I'm hungry. I wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but if I do that, I'll be up all night."

She turns her gaze to her father. "You're settled in then?"

"At least for the night."

She nods. "You're going to need… Everything." She concludes with a moment's thought. "There is a spare toothbrush and my bathroom. Tomorrow, I'll take you shopping."

When he nods in agreement, she turns her gaze to Roland. "Did you pick a new name for our friend?" She gestures toward the dog.

Roland nods eagerly. "He's Big John!"

Regina laughs merrily. "Well, it certainly suits him. I do hope Little John won't mind."

Robin shakes his head vehemently. "Mind? That big lout laughed so loud I thought for sure he would wake you up! And, pizza will be here any second."

Taking the hint, Regina tips her head back and offers him a quick kiss before sliding out of his arms and going to the cabinet to get plates.

With a little help from his father, to make sure he doesn't injure himself when he jumps down from his perch on the tall countertop, Roland trots over to the drawer where he already knows the silverware is kept. As he stands on his tiptoes, reaching into the drawer, he scrunches up his face in thought and quietly counts; one… two… three…is it five people, Regina?"

She smiles warmly. "That's right! Five people for dinner. Good job!"

She sets the corresponding number of plates down in a stack on the table and leaves them for Roland to distribute as she steps to the freezer and begins putting ice in glasses.

"Robin, what's this?" She picks up the unfamiliar envelope stuck to the front of her refrigerator courtesy of an apple-shaped magnet.

Glancing at it, he shrugs. "Don't know. Didn't open it."

"Why not? You could have. It's addressed to both of us."

"I know. You weren't here with me. You were asleep. I was waiting for you."

Carrying the envelope to the table, she pulls a chair out and sits down as Robin places the bowl of salad in the center of the table.

Regina works the clasp loose, and carefully dumps the contents of the envelope onto the table. Curiously, she runs gentle fingers over two gleaming silver keys tied together with a dark green ribbon before she picks up the single folded sheet of fine linen stationery that lays on top of a small neatly organized folder of paperwork. Unfolding the note, she reads it to herself, and then glances curiously up at Robin, who stands, leaning over her shoulder.

"What?"

Handing him the note, she recites as he reads.

 _A simple thank you is not enough._

 _~ Zeus_

With her hands tingling with pent-up excitement, Regina quietly opens the folder. When she realizes what's inside, she covers her mouth in astonishment as she looks to Robin once again; a warm light glowing in her dark eyes.

"What is that?" He inquires. "It looks like some sort of legal document."

Regina nods. Mystified, she answers, in a breathless whisper, "Robin… It's the deed to the apple barn. It's in both our names."

 **Chapter 52: You Called?**

Regina sits at the desk in her office forcing her way through ten days' worth a busy work. Outside, it's raining, and her mind is on the other, more pleasurable, things than the monthly budget report.

Henry and Henry have become two peas in a pod. Her father is adjusting well to his new life here in Storybrooke. He's handling the world's most profound case of culture shock with masculine grace and dignity. Nearly everything is different here, but the king rarely so much as grimaces in response to all these changes. Instead of being taciturn, as other adults might be in similar circumstances, he's usually wide-eyed and curious. It's not terribly unlike watching an infant discover the world around him. She clearly recalls how, when he was a baby, every experience was new for her son. Her father may be significantly older and markedly less innocent, but this world is no less new and full of discoveries to be made. Among which, two of his favorites so far seem to be microwave popcorn, and ice makers\dispensers.

She laughs at the memory her of father and son standing in the kitchen; grandson patiently explaining, "You just lay the bag in here, like this, with the front side of the bag face down because…" he had paused to point to the directional arrows on the bag and the words in bold print, 'this side up' - See, it says to on the bag, then you close the door, and just push the button that says popcorn. But…" Henry's grandson cautions carefully. "when it comes to popcorn, don't wait for the microwave to stop on its own. The setting is for two minutes and forty-five seconds, but if you leave it in there that long it will burn. It will stink up the whole house, and Mom will take away your game-boy privileges for 3 days because she hates the smell of burnt popcorn. Once you put it in there and start the microwave, it'll take about a minute for it to even start popping. After that, listen to it. It will start slowly, then it will make a lot of popping noise, and then it will slow down again. When you can count to three between popping sounds it's done. Take it out. When you're done, there's usually about 40 seconds, give or take five, left on the clock.

Since then, her father had taken to referring to the microwave as, 'the magic cooking box.' She's tried explaining that it is technology, not magic. Her father doesn't seem to care. She can call it science, or technology, whatever she wants, her father is quite comfortable with, 'magic cooking box.'

Likewise, two days ago, while shopping, they had stopped at a coffee shop, for a break, and although he didn't understand why any person would choose to put ice in their coffee - coffee should be rich, robust, and hot – he was still fascinated by the ice dispenser behind the counter in the coffee shop. Until then, he had not discovered the ice dispenser in the door of the refrigerator at home. In the Enchanted Forest, ice, itself, was hard to come by; except in cold weather. To Henry's way of thinking, any machine that could distribute ice at the mere push of a button most certainly had to be magic. More than once over the last few days, he has been found shaking his head. "And most people in this world don't believe in magic? If that's true, something is wrong with the people here. Magic is all around them." So, Regina took him to the library. Remembering what an avid reader he once was, she introduced him to Belle and got him a library card. He came home with books on history, science, economics, and the executive branch of American government. Although they've only been home for four days, he's already been back to the library once. Somewhere along the way, he bumped into Marco, and as they are men of similar age, they struck up a conversation and, in very short order, agreed to a friendly game of chess.

Regina laughs at herself.

And she had been worried that it might all prove to be too much for the man. That he might be too homesick "Ha…" She thinks to herself. "Shows you what I know."

It's wonderful, absolutely wonderful, having him back again. Even though she'd been away from her office for six days when they arrived home from the underworld, she took another three just to get him settled. For three days it has been her, her son, and her father, with no interruptions.

Her son is scarcely less thrilled than she is with his grandfather's presence. When the boy is not in school, they are inseparable. For every question her father asks him, Henry asks two of his own. His questions usually center around the Enchanted Forest, or what it's like to run a kingdom, but their favorite topic by far seems to be her. Every time she walks into a room unexpectedly, she finds her father and her son regaling each other with tales of her many misadventures. She hadn't wanted it to end, she hadn't felt ready to return to work, but last night, her father announced that it was time for her to stop hovering and go back to life as she knew it. She argued briefly, even though she knew he was right. She had also known that she needed to return to her office.

With a bit of help from her son, she showed him how to use the phone and told him that if he needed anything, all he had to do was call and she would pop home… magically if necessary. When she had first arrived at her office this morning, she had called him every half hour just to check in, until he informed her that if she didn't stop calling, he was going to stop answering. At that point, she had grudgingly agreed that she would not call again, but that if he needed her she would answer.

She tears her eyes away from the rain-streaked window and the world beyond it. Dutifully, she forces herself to return to the task at hand. She spends another 45 minutes totaling budget columns, checking and rechecking her arithmetic; she returns a few phone calls and places one of her own. She calls the diner and speaks to Granny to check in on Hercules and Meg. Although they have not been to see her yet, Granny assures her that they are well and that they will be by in a day or two. She also learns that Ruby has returned home with Dorothy for a brief visit. It seems the two of them intend to split their time between Storybrooke and Oz.

Smiling, she hangs up and finds herself staring out at the rain again. Nearly four days have gone by without incident. There have been no giants attacking, no bizarre magical creatures appearing and wreaking havoc on the town. No unexpected portal jumping. There haven't even been any emotionally unbalanced witches who are either freezing or blowing things up. Okay, to be fair, she's usually the only emotionally unbalanced witch around here who blows things up. Regina finds she has thoroughly enjoyed the peace, of the last four days, she hasn't even had to deal with her sister. It's almost perfect.

There's just one tiny little problem. They are home, safe and sound. She's here. Robin's here and he calls and sends text messages a few times a day:

 _Good morning, Hello, Roland says he misses you, Goodnight love, Sweet dreams._

But she hasn't actually seen him, and that thought sends a shot of almost palpable, longing straight to her core where warmth begins to build in a way that is both, sweetly satisfying, and supremely frustrating.

Alone in her office, she sighs deeply and fidgets in response to her own private desire. Maybe it's time to do something about that. She chuckles wryly. Her father said that if she came home before 6:00 PM he was going to run away from home. She checks her wristwatch; still 5 ½ hours to go.

The instant she picks up her phone, it vibrates with an incoming message accompanied by one of her favorite text tones.

"You busy?"

Regina smiles and replies immediately. "I have been, but not just now."

She waits barely a minute before he responds, and a relaxed conversation begins with the two of them texting one another in fairly rapid succession. "Grab your brolly. There's something you need to see."

"Oh?"

"Oh yes, mi'lady."

Regina squints; still smiling. "Robin?"

Mere seconds after she hits 'send' her phone chimes again. "Regina?"

"Do you have clothes on?"

"Of course."

She pouts. "Well, that's a shame."

"LOL! See, I thought you'd be too busy working to be thinking about such things, but - since, obviously, you aren't – if my current state of dress displeases you, it is one that is easily remedied."

"Where are you?"

"The barn."

Leaving her desk, Regina slips into her raincoat and pockets her phone. The last thing she does before vanishing in her customary swirling cloud of purple smoke is precisely what he suggested. She grabs her umbrella from the stand beside the door.

Seconds later, she materializes, standing directly behind him on the front porch of the barn and finds him staring at his phone as if he's waiting for her reply. Smiling playfully, she reaches out and softly taps him on the shoulder.

He jumps slightly and then smiles sheepishly as he shakes his finger at her. "It's not nice to sneak up on a man."

"I didn't sneak." She shrugs, unbothered by his light-hearted accusation. You said I needed to see something… Here I am. Ask, and you shall receive."

Robin raises a skeptical eyebrow. "And, you didn't see me standing here, and deliberately choose to appear right behind me?"

Regina wobbles her hand side to side. "Meh, maybe!" She shrugs.

He chuckles softly as he kisses her mouth. "See!" He mumbles into the kiss. "You're a sneak!"

She winds her arms around his neck and threads her fingers through his hair before she leans back in his embrace. "But you asked for me. You knew I would show up. Didn't you?"

"Well, I certainly hope so. I haven't seen you for three bloody days. And... you're still a sneak!"

Regina shrugs without apology and offers him a series of feather-light kisses until he slides his hands down low on her hips and silently asks for more; his mouth hungry as he pulls her closer still.

She kisses him back; their willing tongues lighting a flame that starts as the tiniest of sparks and quickly begins to blaze as it spreads outward to other body parts eager to reunite on this rainy afternoon.

Regina breaks the kiss only when she must. With her forehead resting against his, she sighs softly as she says, "I've missed you."

Robin smiles and answers just as quietly. "I can tell. Maybe we should spend a few days apart more often."

Wide-eyed, she shakes her head emphatically and pouts.

"No? You don't care for that idea?" He raises an eyebrow.

When she shakes her head for a second time, as desire comes to life in her dark gaze, he smiles, kisses her temple, and then whispers; his breath warm against her ear "Right then. Scrap that idea. Maybe I'll just take you upstairs and undress you."

Regina purrs softly as they move across the front porch with their lips fused together. Robin feels blindly for the doorknob. Once over the threshold, he lightly kicks the front door closed and they clumsily dance their way across the great room on their way to the stairs. Halfway up to the second floor, her hands leave his hair and begin to roam the expanse of his back. Robin gently tugs at the sash secured tightly around Regina's waist, and her raincoat falls open, granting his hands leave to explore the warm body beneath.

Two steps before they reach the second-floor landing, she breaks their kiss again and pants breathlessly, "Hey wait!"

Robin does his best to stifle a groan as he raises a curious, if slightly impatient, eyebrow.

Still holding on to him, staying close so he can feel her, Regina looks around in a state of obvious confusion. "We haven't left Storybrooke again? This isn't the underworld?"

Robin slowly shakes his head; soothing her mild concerns.

"But this place is rejuvenated… Like it was in the underworld… Minus all the dust that was there when we first arrived." Half scowling and half smiling, Regina looks around again. "it's all fixed up… It's even lightly furnished.

Robin nods patiently. "I found another note on the refrigerator here. 'This should get you started. Keep what you want, discard the rest. It too was signed…"

"Zeus." They say in unison.

Placing a hand in his, Regina steps away long enough to peer over the spiral staircase railing down into the great room, where she seeks out and finds the massive apple tree carved into the wall. Only, while the one here in Storybrooke does bear fruit, no names have been carved into place yet."

Robin nods, picking up on her thoughts, "This one's blank. Not sure why."

She smiles at him as she steps back into his arms. "He told you why. In his note. Just enough to get us started. Besides, if he'd completed the entire carving for you, you would've been disappointed. No one takes on a massive project like that unless they want to do it. He didn't want to take that away from you. He just wanted to help out; maybe make it a little easier."

Robin smiles and tenderly brushes the pad of his thumb against her soft lips; already starting to swell slightly from repeated kissing. "Well, he's certainly accomplished that."

"We should send him a thank-you note."

Robin nods agreeably but squints. "How exactly does one send a thank-you note to Mount Olympus?"

Regina shrugs. "Don't know. I'll think about that later." Breathing warmly against the skin of his neck, she nips lightly at the pulse point below his ear and then flicks the same spot gently with her warm, wet tongue.

Pulling her close again, he settles his hands low on her hips and gazes down at her. "There is a bed up here." He whispers. "A very nice, very big bed; with lots of room for rolling around."

She sighs deeply; the rise and fall of her chest creating pleasant friction between the two of them.

Robin continues. "I really think we should go christen it, but until we get there, you should behave yourself, Madame Mayor."

When she raises a curious eyebrow, he warns suggestively, "Keep that sassy tongue of yours in your mouth; otherwise, you're likely to find yourself penned up against a wall somewhere between here and there."

 **Chapter 53: Let It Rain**

Because Regina already knows he'll make good on the sensual threat he issued, behaving herself is the farthest thing from her mind. They don't make it four steps before she nips provocatively at his lower lip. When Robin groans and offers her a stern look of warning, she moves her tender assault to the side of his neck that has not yet received her attention. Her eyes, and the tongue he finds it so impossible to resist, locate his throbbing pulse point, and she moves in slowly; her lips warm and feather-light, barely touching him, until she very firmly and deliberately places her tongue against the heated flesh over the pulsing vein behind his jaw.

Growling in ecstasy, he rolls his head to the side, granting her delectable mouth better access, and indulging in the pleasure she offers until he knows that if he doesn't make her stop, their delight in each other won't last nearly long enough.

Always a man and his word, Robin does exactly as he said he would. Quick as the lightning flashing in the sky outside he roughly shoves her up against the nearest wall in the upstairs hallway. Her quiet laughter is dark and seductive as it rises from the warm and willing place low in her abdomen and the rush of the heated breath that comes with it as she collides with the wall is nearly enough to undo him. He knows he has to get her mouth away from his neck. In an effort to control himself just a little longer, he takes her by the shoulders and spins her around to face the wall. He peels her raincoat off and tosses it away. When he steps in close, pressing his body to hers in all the right places, she smiles wickedly and reaches back, her hand searching for the firm erection she feels against the swell of her ass. Before her fingers can do more than barely caress him, he steps back a ½ step and jerks her hand away, quickly pinning it to the wall above her head. When she attempts to make good use of the other hand, he repeats the process. Holding both wrists to the wall with one hand, he steps in close again and growls low in her ear, "No. You will wait!"

Dark laughter rises in her throat again. "I don't want to wait, thief. I want…"

Her words are instantly hushed when she feels his warm calloused hand against the tender flesh at the back of her lower thigh. Pushing her skirt up, he breathes hotly against her throat. "Shush. Be quiet Regina! I know what you want. You are going to wait. We both are."

When she growls in irritation, Robin chuckles quietly against her ear. "God, but you are impatient! Just wait woman!"

She shakes her head as she deliberately presses her body to his and writhes in blissful invitation.

Aware that a compromise must be offered before he loses his mind, Robin's fingers curl around one supple thigh and slowly work their way upward. When his warm fingers find the minimal scrap of material that is her lacy thong, her body shudders, she arches her back and grinds against the touch he offers.

"Robin!" She pants low with breathless yearning.

Bloody hell, the moisture he can already feel soaking through her most intimate apparel makes his already engorged flesh literally ache inside his denim trousers. Remembering her healing thigh at the last possible moment, he stretches the delicate waistband clear of the stitches that it's probably time for him to remove and eases the scant garment out of his way. As it falls away, he pushes her skirt even higher. When her bare bottom makes contact with, and grinds gently against his arousal, they both gasp in equal parts fulfillment and craving.

To keep her from pushing him over the edge for as long as humanly possible, his fingers seek and find her heated clit. Like he knew it would, his touch momentarily stalls her blissful assault on his mind and body. As he teases her, massaging gently at first, working the slippery bundle of nerves with soft provocation, she goes completely still for a time and focuses only on the pleasure he brings.

Smiling, he knows he's bought himself precious minutes when her head lolls and falls back against his shoulder. With her lips parted, and a low moan rolling against the back of her throat, Regina closes her eyes and lets his fingers delight her until her hips begin to shudder and roll of their own accord. When this happens, she thrusts forward and down roughly against his obliging fingers.

For a moment, he goes still and lets her use his touch to gratify herself. He lets her work against him until the moment he feels the muscles in her core begin to quiver involuntarily. When he senses her frustration mounting again - knowing she's close, oh so close, but that she wants his help to get there, he spreads his fingers until he feels her inner walls begin to stretch and then he moves again; working in tandem with the harsh thrusts of her hips.

When she whimpers, her breath coming out in quick shallow puffs "Now please." He expands the gap between his fingers, stretches her wider and plunges in deep and rough the way she likes; and because he knows she's enjoying it, he is more than a little surprised when her head wobbles listlessly side to side on his shoulder.

"No?" he grinds out through clenched teeth the instant before he pulls her right earlobe into his mouth and applies a gentle sucking pressure before he inquires in a hoarse whisper, "It's not working for you?"

Regina nods with unmistakable drunken pleasure. "But." She pants raggedly.

"What Gina? What do you want?" He groans out in delicious agony as her writhing backside once again pushes him ever closer to the brink of orgasm.

"You, Robin." She grunts in mounting frustration "I want you…" When she tries to turn in his arms he allows it; setting her captive hands free and immediately reaching down to undo his belt.

A quivering wet mess, she leans, panting, against the wall, knowing instinctively by the blazing fire in his blue eyes that he's much too close to abandon, and that if she wants him with her, this is not the moment to offer her touch. Besides, this man does not need her help. In less than 2 seconds, his clothes are no longer a barrier between them and he's parting her thighs and lifting her feet off the floor in a single fluid move. A second after that he's inside her as deep as he can go and growling seductively as he quickly finds and establishes a vicious rhythm; pressing himself in deep only to withdraw and return harder with each thrust. And Regina meets each one with willing and equal force.

They lock eyes and push each other onward. Regina reaches out, grabbing the nearby staircase railing for support with her left hand while her right finds his ass and holds on. When they're both at the precipice, she offers him a sassy smile and pinches him gently.

The world slips away, and the volcano erupts gloriously. They spend precious moments being both scorched by, and then reborn in, the flames of their passions.

When they return to earth, her eyes focus on his. Chuckling breathlessly, she whispers, "Wow!"

Robin throws back his head and laughs as his thirsty mouth finds hers. While he kisses her, her arms find their way around his neck and her body goes limp against his.

Still penned securely against the wall. She whispers with the mildest regret, "So much for christening the new bed."

Robin raises an eyebrow. "Why? We're still going to. I'm not leaving here until we do but…" He smirks and admits honestly. "I might need a ½ hour nap first."

This time, it's Regina who throws back her head and laughs boldly. "Can you skip the nap if I promise to do all the hard work next time?"

Finally leaving their place at the top of the stairs, as Robin carries her down the hall toward their bedroom door, he winks and whispers, "Now, that could work!"

 **Chapter 54: No More Fireballs in the House!**

For the next two months, Regina and those closest her settle into a comfortable routine. Regina goes to work. Young Henry goes to school while his grandfather quickly settles into life in this unfamiliar world with all its strange and wonderful trappings. When the king isn't busy reading, educating himself about the ins and outs of this new world he finds himself residing in, he does his best to step up and shoulder some of the responsibility for running the household. The less Regina must do when she's at home, the more time the three of them have together. It takes him a few weeks, but eventually, he gets used to the way his grandson bounces back and forth between his daughter's house and Emma's. When he first arrived, he noticed this and asked to know the schedule. Regina had laughed.

"There's no schedule, Daddy. The way Henry lives his life is not court-mandated and I won't allow it to be. There once was a time when Emma and I might have needed that, but neither of us wanted to put Henry through an official legal battle. Eventually, we get over ourselves. Henry comes and goes between our homes as he pleases. Neither of us wants to restrict his ability to see the other whenever he chooses. Occasionally, there are minor details we do have to work out, but we do it. We do it for Henry."

"Court-mandated?"

"When two parents, usually a mother and father who are divorced or otherwise separated, can't come to an amicable agreement concerning child visitation the courts will get involved and make it mandatory for a child to spend a set amount of time with each one, assuming both are fit to be part of the child's life. I did some research while Emma and I were busy fighting with each other. These court cases are almost always long, arduous, painful processes. No matter what the outcome, it seems that someone is always unhappy, and the person who always seems to get hurt the most is the child in the middle. It took Emma and me a while, and occasionally we still butt heads, but we've reached a point where no matter what is going on with us; we do our best to make sure that Henry is the one who wins."

"So, he comes and goes."

Regina had nodded. "He comes and goes; fairly evenly between the two of us by his own choice. Even if he spends more time here this week, next week it's likely he'll be here less. And, it's not as if he lives in a different city when he's with Emma. He's just a few blocks away. If he needs us, either one of us can be there in the time it takes to blink. He spends a fair amount of time with the Nolans too, AKA the Charmings."

So, Henry finds himself getting used to it. Robin and Roland come and go as well; joining them for a meal or just to visit a few times a week.

Henry also finds himself meeting new friends and old acquaintances, and occasionally, if she's not too busy, he spends time loitering comfortably around his daughter's office, where he quietly observes and picks up on the details of her job. Things are relatively quiet compared to what he expected. His grandson loves to tell tales, about one adventure or another; one portal jump or another as if there's always some magical thing happening, and Regina routinely tells him that this is true. She reminds him that what brought her to him in the underworld was an unexpected, portal opening up in the middle of Main Street. If he says, "Well, nothing has happened since I arrived." She counters with, "Just wait. When you least expect it; when you absolutely do not have time for it, this world will tilt sideways on her axis and something magical will happen in Storybrooke. Trust me."

However, since nothing is currently happening, Regina is making good use of the time. She has helped Robin and Roland move into the barn. She's in the early stages of wedding planning, and every once in a while, she calls to check in on her sister who doesn't usually allow for more than a moment's conversation. If Regina leaves a message, she doesn't call back. Regina shrugs and goes about her business.

Robin works part time at the hardware store, and occasionally, if the bartender is out sick or needs a night off, he picks up a shift at some bar called the Rabbit Hole. Regina assures her father, it's not a place he wants to visit, and Robin doesn't seem to enjoy the job, which is not to say that he's ungrateful for the pay. His new lodgings have him rather busy.

Roland is a vibrant little chatterbox who asks questions more often than he exhales, but the boy is smart as a whip and curious about everything. Henry is fascinated by the way his young mind works.

Still, as happy as he is to be here, it's an adjustment. He spent nearly 32 years in the underworld, alone. Thirty-two years is a long time to be alone. Even though he didn't want to, he got used to it, now suddenly, he's surrounded by people and family in a world that moves at a much faster pace than the one he recalls. So, unless he finds himself in the company of Regina, Robin, or Henry, he really prefers to stay home. For the most part, Regina is content to let him. Although, every once in a while, she scolds gently. "Daddy, if you're not careful, you're going to become a hermit."

Chuckling, he sits in his favorite chair, with a book in his lap and wonders where she is this afternoon. In the interest of not becoming a hermit, he'd taken a walk. While out, he had decided, on a whim, to pick up coffee and take it to her office only to find a place locked up tight. He returned home unconcerned, assuming that she was simply out, being the mayor.

Meanwhile, in the master bedroom of their renovated octagonal shaped barn situated in a patch of the woods that surround Storybrooke, Regina rolls away from Robin and flops down on the mattress beside him as the last aftershocks of carnal pleasure ripple through her core.

When he can, when he's ready to rejoin the world, Robin reaches for her and she offers him a warm smile and a disgruntled sigh at the same time.

"What's the matter, mi'lady?"

"I really should get up, get dressed, and go back to work."

He sighs with regret. "If you must."

With gruff affection, she pokes him hard in the ribs. "You're going to let me go that easily?"

"I'd rather be happy you were here than be disappointed because you need to leave. I wasn't expecting you this afternoon anyway, so this was a wonderful treat. I didn't expect to come home and find you pouring over budget reports, real estate values, or whatever it is that you have spread all over the kitchen table.

Regina laughs and runs her fingertips through his light dusting of chest hair. "That mess on the kitchen table is not work related. I got bored at work."

He chuckles softly and kisses the top of her head. "You got bored"

She nods and pulls the top sheet tighter around her naked body. "Really. Sometimes it does get a little slow. The only thing that might be of any interesting to anyone today is that Gold is trying to raise the rent… again. The fairies are unhappy. There's not a lot I can do about it in the immediate sense. I can talk to him about fair market value, and tenants' rights, etc. He won't back off until somebody gives him a reason to, and most likely the nuns will find a way to cover the shortfall. That's it for today. So, like I said, I was bored.

"So, what you abandoned your office and decided to come take a ride on the Locksley Express; give us both a thrill?"

Laughter erupts from deep in her belly and she snuggles close and buries her face in the curve of his neck.

Grinning, he holds her close and waits the long moment necessary for her laughter to dry up, after which, she shrugs without repent. "Hey, it worked." She announces. "I'm not bored anymore!"

"Well, that's good to know!" He laughs. "So, what is all over the kitchen table.

Wedding plans… Snow came to see me a few weeks ago, and then again today. Apparently, our little excursion down in the underworld reminded her who she is. She's tired of being Mary Margaret. She wants to go back to being Snow. When she told me this during that first visit, I told her to go for it. I didn't know going for it, would mean that we would become her new pet project. I thought she'd go back to rescuing birds and trying to reform Leroy. But, today, she came by with that huge portfolio full of wedding… minutiae. I promised her I would at least take a look at it. I don't think I should have. I think, in doing so, I may have created a monster.

Robin squeezes her shoulder. "She's just happy for us."

She's passed happy, Robin. I think she's blissful psychotic. If I let her, she's going to plan the grandest fairy tale wedding this world has ever seen." She scowls. "Right down to the fussy overpriced white dress."

"Is there something wrong with white dresses?"

She squints incredulously. "Me? Regina Mills, Evil Queen in a white wedding dress? Don't you think that's a little… Inappropriate?"

"Regina, I don't think it's about what's appropriate. It's about you and me. It's supposed to be our day… What do you want to wear? Black?"

Regina smacks his chest with the heel of her hand. "It's a wedding; not a funeral!"

"Okay, so I repeat, what do you… The future Mrs. Robin Locksley… Want to wear on our wedding day?"

She sighs heavily with a conflicting mix of contentment and irritation. "I'll know it when I find it. But, I've been in both of our dress shops. Whatever I'm going to wear, it's not in either place. It's not in any catalog I've found either. I might have to take a trip to Boston or New York.

"Okay, well, you did say you wanted to… take a vacation." He smirks suggestively. "Go someplace without magic for a few days. Maybe we should do that. While we're at it, you can do some shopping."

She turns in his arms and kisses his chest before looking up at him and raising an eyebrow. "Summer's too hot for an outdoor wedding and winter is too cold. That leaves us with spring or fall?

"How about an autumn wedding…"

She finishes with him. "When the colors are starting to change."

"Right." He runs his fingers through her hair.

"Morning or evening?"

He shrugs. "Doesn't matter, love. Whichever you want. You tell me when and where. Roland and I will be there."

Regina smiles happily but, before the conversation can continue, her phone rings from its place on top of the dresser. or rather, it starts to ring then makes the pitiful sound of an electronic device that has suffered some catastrophic event, shorted out, and is dying. Startled, she glances at the communication device and finds it scorched beyond recognition; its protective case melted around it.

"My phone!" She exclaims pitifully as she leaves the bed long enough to retrieve the melted hunk of scrap metal it's been reduced to. As she climbs back under the sheet, Robin throws back his head and laughs loudly at the utterly perplexed look on her face.

"Don't laugh." She says sounding wounded and confused. "it's not funny. What happened to it!

Robin studies her with mild concern. "You mean you don't know?"

Regina turns the useless phone over in her palms, studying it, as a worried frown creases her forehead. "I know what it looks like. I know I did this. But, Robin I don't remember doing this!"

"It rang a few seconds after you laid it down on top of the dresser. We ignored it. It rang again 30 minutes later. We were…eh… rather busy. You sure you don't remember."

Regina shakes her head in wide-eyed astonishment. "I remember what we were doing! I just don't remember this!" She shakes the phone at him.

It must've been distracting you, because you growled, rolled me over, and threw the biggest fireball I've ever seen at the bloody thing! It got quiet. You straddled me and…." He winks with pride. "You didn't miss another stroke!"

"Now I remember! This damn thing wouldn't stop ringing! It was bothering me! I was…" She curls her fingers into fists. "We were… Right there! About the go over the edge and…" She groans in disgust and throws the useless phone across the room. "Now I need a new phone!"

"You can use mine until you get a replacement, as long as you promise me it won't meet the same fiery end… and, aside from your needing a new phone, I think we need a new rule."

She raises an eyebrow and scowls as she settles back into his embrace. "I don't like rules."

"I'm aware. But seriously my love. No more fireballs in the house. Zeus went to all the trouble to give us this place and it's starting to grow me. If you set in on fire before the wedding, I might be just the tiniest bit and miffed."

Pouting, Regina points defensively. "Robin, the dresser is not even scorched!

In reply, he silently points to her phone on the floor, as he raises an eyebrow.

She grimaces and shrugs. "Fine, no more fireballs in the house!"

"That's my girl." He kisses her forehead, and for a moment, she looks as though she might push him out of the bed; especially when his own phone starts to ring on the bedside table and he reaches for it.

"Hello?" He holds up a finger, silently asking for her patience.

Regina frowns and moves to get up from the bed. She pulls the sheet along with her, but before both feet are firmly on the floor, Robin reaches out and silently stops her with a gentle hand to the arm.

Her gaze moves from the hand on her arm to his face. When she sees the worry in his eyes she whispers, "What!"

Robin moves the phone away from his mouth and says quietly, "it's Hades. Your sister's in the hospital." He listens to Hades on the other end of the phone a moment longer. "There's a problem with the baby. They need help."

 **Chapter 55: Start Spreading the News**

"You're going to New York?" Young Henry asks with a look of uncertainty.

Standing in the Nolan's living room, Regina nods. "Yes. I'm going."

"But why Mom. What can you do?"

Regina shakes her head. "Maybe nothing. But I need to go find out."

"Can I go, too? You shouldn't go to New York by yourself."

Regina smiles, runs her fingers through his son's hair affectionately, and shakes her head. "Not this time. And, I won't be alone. I know you love New York, but I'm not certain exactly how long I will be gone. I don't want to pull you out of school for a week or more. Robin is going with me. He spent two months there. He should have some feel for the city by now, and it's not as if I'd never been there. You stay here, go to school…" She gestures to all the other adults in the room. "Split your time between Emma and your grandparents. Do your homework, stay out of trouble, and I'll be back as soon as I can. I'll call you tonight after we get there and let you know more about what's going on."

Henry nods quietly, more concerned about his mother than about not been allowed to go along on the trip.

"What do you know about what is going on with Zelena and the baby?"

Regina turns her attention to Snow and shrugs. "Not much. Hades wasn't very clear. I'm going to call him once we're on the road and try to get some more information. I know she's in a hospital. I know she fainted because of low blood pressure. That's what got her to the hospital. Once she was there, they started running tests. There's something wrong with the baby's blood. Hades wasn't particularly easy to understand, but I suspect that's because he doesn't understand himself. He's frustrated, and he's scared."

Regina's son goes wide-eyed. "Hades is scared? I didn't think it was possible to scare a god."

She can't help but chuckle at the unabashed wonder on his face. "Be patient. It'll happen to you too one day; then you'll understand. The fact that he's a god means absolutely nothing in this situation. Now that his wife is pregnant, he's a parent first; and he will be for the rest of his life. Henry, there's nothing that scares us worse that our babies and being sick, hurt, or in trouble." She puts her arm around his shoulders as she turns her attention back to everyone else in the room.

"Whatever the doctors said to him shook him pretty hard. The way he understands it, Zelena's body is basically attacking the baby. He didn't seem to understand why. I think the only part he heard clearly, was that the baby has a life-threatening case of anemia, and she also has a very rare blood type. They want to do some kind of procedure, where they will give the baby of blood transfusion, but before they can do that, they have to find a suitable donor."

David speaks up from his place on the sofa beside his wife, "How do you even give an unborn baby a blood transfusion? They aren't going to deliver the baby now? It's way too soon!"

"No, they won't deliver the baby. Not yet. She's barely at the sixth month marker. She's 28 weeks along, and from what little I've read on the subject of premature delivery, it is possible to deliver a baby that early, but the child or the mother has to be in absolute dire condition. Odds of survival are slim. Hades told me there is a procedure they can do to give the baby a blood transfusion while it's still in the womb. Like I said, I don't think he understood much of it. Even parents who've been in this world their entire life, parents who know nothing but this world, would have a hard time understanding this, I think. The fact that, for the most part, he's still very unfamiliar with this world – well, it's no wonder he's lost, and inarticulate."

"So, what are you going there to do?" Emma queries.

Regina shrugs again. "I'm going to do some research and I'm going to talk to the doctors; to see if they can give me a better understanding of what's going on. I'm going to get a blood test done to see if I'm a suitable donor for the baby. Zelena and I are only half sisters, but there is still a chance that I could have the same rare blood type as the child. There may not be anything I can do. I may not even be a match, but if I am…"

"You're going to give your sister blood?" Hook inquires incredulously.

"My understanding is that technically, I would be giving her child blood - if I'm a suitable donor - and yes, if I can, I'm going to."

David squints; confused. "I thought you hated Zelena."

Regina shakes her head. "Zelena hates me. I don't like her, and God knows she's given me plenty of reasons to hate her, but I'm trying not to. Even if I do, this isn't about me and Zelena. This is about an unborn baby who is very, very sick. Thirteen years ago, one of the many reasons I decided to adopt Henry was because I didn't believe I would ever be able to have a child that was biologically mine. It was unbearable thinking that, and the only thing that I can think of that could possibly be worse would be losing a child. I'm not going to put my sister through that. Not if I can do something to stop it. I don't care how much she hates me."

Snow offers a tense smile. "How is Zelena?"

"She's tired, sick…and terrified. She didn't say that. She wouldn't; not to me. But I know she is, because for the last two months, every time I have tried to call her, she has said 'Leave me alone. I don't want you here, I don't even want to talk to you.' I still don't think she wants me there, but all the heat has gone out of her voice. I'm pretty sure that if my blood will help her child - well, she'll take it from me by force if necessary, and I wouldn't blame her."

The elder man in the room smiles at his daughter. "Don't worry about us here in Storybrooke sweetheart. We'll be fine. We'll look after Henry, and he'll look after us. You just go help that baby."

Regina sighs. "I will if I can, Daddy. We're driving to Boston and then catching a flight to New York. We'll be there this evening." She places her hand in Robin's as he adds. "Little John is going to look after Roland for me, but the last time we had to leave him, he got a little nervous. Part of that was because he watched us get sucked into the underworld. He knows we're not going anyplace like that this time, and that we will be able to call, but it would be nice if you all could check on him."

Regina's son smiles and nods along with Snow and his grandfathers. "Sure, I'll go get the little guy and bring him into town for some ice cream one day."

"I really appreciate that Henry; and Roland will love it. Rocky Road is his favorite."

Henry laughs. "Rocky Road is Mom's favorite too, and it's no trouble. Pretty soon, he's going to be my brother. Probably wouldn't hurt to spend a little bit of time with the guy."

Regina kisses her son's forehead. "Thank you."

"Hey, Regina…" Emma steps into the conversation again. "You know, New York has every kind of shop you could possibly imagine; including several very nice dress shops. While you're there, if you have time, you might look for a wedding dress."

"I'm one step ahead of you, Swan. It's already on my to-do list."

Poking fun, Emma asks, "You made a list?" Then, gesturing with her hands as she talks, she shrugs as if she should've known and answer her own question. "Of course, you made a list. One bit of advice, do yourselves a favor and try not to look too much like tourists while you're there. If you walk around all wide-eyed with a list of places to visit, it's like hanging a sign around your neck inviting the muggers and the pickpockets."

Regina laughs. "Relax Emma. It's not like I've never been to New York before. Besides, I'm taking an accomplished thief along with me. If anything gets stolen, he'll just steal it back."

 **Chapter 56: Ready or Not...**

In the seat next to her, Robin watches Regina search her shoulder bag while holding his phone between her chin and shoulder until she comes up with an ink pen and a small pad of lined paper. As she makes affirmative noises to let Hades know she's listening, she quickly scrawls a note to herself. Robin glances over.

 _Zelena - Rh disease; negative Rh factor; red blood cells negative for Rh protein._

"Okay Hades, we'll be there in less than 2 hours. We are in Boston waiting to board a flight. If you need to get in touch with us, call Robin's number. I'm sorry I missed you called earlier. There's a problem with my phone, but you can reach either of us through Robin's. We'll see you soon."

She hangs up and hands him his phone back before extracting her tablet from her shoulder bag.

As he watches in fascination, she types Rh disease into the device via the onscreen keyboard and waits for a list of sites to be populated.

"What is Rh disease?"

"I don't know yet, but I will by the time our plane lands one hour and twenty minutes from now."

She tinkers with the tablet doing things Robin doesn't really understand. To tell the truth, he barely understands his phone. You push a series of buttons, and if you did it right, the person you're trying to reach will answer, or text you back. As he watches her, half of his attention is elsewhere.

"I saw one of those planes when we were coming in. Those things are too big, there is no way they're going to fill one of them with people and luggage and get the thing off the ground."

Regina absent-mindedly pats his knee as she continues saving information to read later; once they're in flight. "it's called aerodynamics. It's all about the concepts of drag, lift, and thrust; and that's really all I understand. The planes do fly. I promise. If you want a better understanding, I'm sure you can check out a book at the library when we get back to Storybrooke. She pauses the task in hand and lifts her gaze to his face. "Didn't you fly to New York before?"

Robin shakes his head. "We took a bus."

Regina wrinkles her nose in mild disgust. "it's just over 6 hours by car. By bus, it had to have been longer."

Robin nods. "Almost nine hours… But that was because we broke down and spend 2 hours sitting on the side of the road. It wasn't until we were under way again that I realized, at the point we broke down, I could've gotten off the bus and walked and gotten there faster than I did sitting and waiting for the new bus to arrive to get us."

"You probably couldn't have gotten there faster. Not with Roland and Mari… Sorry about that, I mean, Zelena in tow."

"That's okay. At that point, I thought she was Marian too. Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, you can." She answers distractedly. When she senses his hesitation, she sets the tablet aside and offers him a smile. "What is it?"

Robin lowers his voice to a whisper meant for her ears only. "If she can put memories in my head, can they be taken out?"

"They can." Regina quietly affirms. "Why? Are you worried that maybe she took something from you?"

"No." He answers automatically before pausing to think about it. "I hope not." He adds when an unsettling feeling rises in his stomach. "I was just wondering if it was possible to extract what she put in my head.

"It's possible. However, with spells like that, it's best to have that person who did it, undo it."

"Oh, never mind then. I don't want her poking around inside my head a second time."

"Neither do I. I'm sure I could do a passable job of it. Especially since we're related. If it can't be the person who cast the spell; a relative is the next best thing. However, just so you know, I can't do it without becoming acutely aware of the memory myself."

Robin makes a face that implies there's bile rising in the back of his throat. "Never mind. I'll keep it to myself and just be content with the knowledge that it didn't really happen."

"You're not the only one who knows it wasn't real."

"I know that. But, after you take that memory out of my head, who's going to take the memory of doing it out of your head. Knowing that isn't possible - that would be even worse for me than walking around with the memory in my own head."

Regina laces her fingers with his. "Whatever you're most comfortable with."

"Really?"

She nods. "It's your head. It's your mind. Having somebody poke around in it a second time just to fix what shouldn't have happened the first time doesn't exactly make a person feel secure. The thought of having somebody nosing through my most private thoughts and memories…" Regina shivers. "Of course, I'd much rather the memory hadn't been put there in the first place. As it has, the options for removing it are somewhat limited. Do whatever makes you the most comfortable, or more likely, whatever makes you the least uncomfortable."

Robin nods and answers grimly. "Let's just leave it where it is… and change the subject."

Regina smiles. "Okay." She answers encouragingly. "What else you got?"

"Can you teach me how to drive?"

"A car? Sure, I guess so." She searches his face inquiringly. "Do you… not want to fly?"

"I'm not sure. But I'll try anything once. That's not why I'm asking. It's just, you drove us here. It was almost 3 ½ hours. A few months ago, you drove us back from New York. It was more than six, and you drove the entire time. If we're going to take trips, even occasionally, to get away from Storybrooke, it might be nice if somebody could take over for you."

"Well, how about, when we're ready to leave here, instead of flying back, we'll rent a car and drive back. There's no way you're ready for the interstate, but we can start with empty parking lots and work our way up to back roads. We'll just see where the trip takes us."

"I like the sound of that."

"Do you want to go stand at the window and watch the planes land or take off?"

Robin shakes his head. "I don't think so."

"Takeoff is sort of auspicious. Landing is mildly unsettling, but the flight itself should be short and uneventful. We're flying first class. You'll have room enough to be comfortable at least."

"Sounds intriguing."

Regina pats his knee again. "It'll be fine. I like flying. Just do yourself a favor, when the flight attendant comes by and asks you if you want a cup of coffee, tell her no. You will not like airline coffee."

Robin nods. "I'll remember that."

He falls silent and lets her return to her tablet and the information waiting there for her until the boarding call is issued."

 **Chapter 57: Regina's Offer**

Regina steps up to the information desk in one of New York's Presbyterian hospitals. She waits for the desk clerk to smile encouragingly before saying, "I need to find out what room my sister is in. Her name is Zelena. Her husband should be here with her. His name is Hades." Regina pauses for want of a last name. She's certain Hades must have given them one, but she hadn't thought to ask him about that.

The plump sandy-haired desk attendant nods vigorously. "Right, right. The Greek god." She smiles conspiratorially and whispers. "Who in their right mind names their son after the god of the underworld?" then, on afterthought, she covers her mouth apologetically. "I'm sorry. That was incredibly unprofessional of me. I shouldn't talk that way about your brother-in-law."

As the desk attendant begins to type, tip-tapping long manicured fingernails against the keys of her keyboard, Regina shrugs and waves the apology aside as she remains silent. There is no way on earth she's about to tell the woman that he isn't named for the Greek god; he is the Greek god.

The woman squints; double checking the monitor of her computer. "Mr. and Mrs. Kronopoulos are in room 622 D. Take the elevator the sixth four and follow the directional markers." She points them to the nearest bank of elevators.

Turning, and tucking her hand into Robin's, Regina offers a polite thank-you over her shoulder.

In the elevator, Robin waits for the only other person in there to step out of the third floor. When the doors close and they are alone, he questions, "Kronopoulos?"

Regina smiles up at him as she shrugs. "It makes sense. In English, the last seven letters of the name, O-P-O-U-L-O-S literally mean 'son of' His father was Kronin. So, the Greek name Kronopoulos might literally translate into son of Kronin. He had to tell them something. If he insisted they admit her without a last name, they would've been suspicious."

Robin nods quietly.

They step off the elevator and spend a few minutes looking for the appropriate room before Regina taps discreetly at the door and pokes her head in. When she realizes that there are medical professionals present in the room, she says, "Oh, I'm sorry. We'll wait."

She starts to close the door until Hades insists, "No! Come in, come in!" He glances at the technician in the room. "I want them to see this." On afterthought, he asks, "Is that okay?"

"It's your ultrasound viewing. If you want them here, it's okay."

He motions again with equal parts worry and excitement, inviting both Regina and Robin into the room. "Come, come see our girl."

As they enter, Regina offers her sister and her brother-in-law a tepid smile while Robin wears an unmistakable look of uncertainty.

Stepping close to the bed her sister lays in, Regina hesitantly touches her arm and is surprised when Zelena does not pull away. She spends a conscious two seconds trying not to stare impolitely at the IV protruding from the back of her sister's left hand or at the various other medical equipment in the room that is obviously in use. She can't help but notice how tired and sallow Zelena looks, but she chooses to say nothing of it. Instead, she places her hand in her sister's and is surprised, once again, by her weak grip. Instead of commenting on this, she turns her attention to the screen of the ultrasound machine.

For a moment, Regina stands, watching the slightly grainy image of a tan, putty-colored three-dimensional baby-shaped, blob. In silence, she pushes away a scrap of inpatient envy. It's not that she wants to carry a sick child. That's not what brings the pang of longing to her heart. And it's certainly not that she would relish knowing it was her own body that made her child sick. It's the fact that, at least, for her sister, there is a child. And, granted, Regina hasn't seen a lot of ultrasound pictures, but based on the few she has seen, she can detect nothing wrong; at least not by looking at the screen. Looking at her sister; is a very different story. She squeezes Zelena's clammy hand. "How are you feeling?" she says to her sister before turning to the doctor in the room. "Is there anything I can get her. Anything she's allowed to have at the moment?"

Zelena shakes her head listlessly. "I don't know anything - except a healthy baby."

"Robin and I came to see if I'll be able to help you with that?"

Zelena tears her surprised gaze away from the image of her unborn child. "You? Hades said he was calling help. He didn't tell me that help was you."

"I'm sorry my love. I'm afraid I thought it was rather obvious."

"Obvious?"

Regina fills in the gaps for him. "Your baby has a rare blood type and needs a donor. The odds of finding a match in a complete stranger… Well, let's just say the odds of finding a family member who's a match are astronomically better."

"I'm afraid she's right." The doctor speaks up again."

Overwhelmed, Zelena whispers in uncertainty, "You'll give her blood?"

"If my blood will help her, yes."

Suspiciously, Zelena pushes up on her elbows. Before addressing Regina, she turns to the ultrasound technician. "I could lay here and look at her all day long, but we should stop now. That gel you put all my belly is really cold. I don't think she likes it." Turning her attention back to her sister, she queries without any of her usual bite, "Why? What do you want in return?"

Regina shakes her head. "I don't want anything, Greenie…Except not to have my little niece die before she's even born. I don't want that to happen any more than you do."

Zelena orders weakly, "Don't do that! Don't lay claim to her, like she's yours. She's not. She's mine."

Tired of the same old argument, Regina pulls the room's only chair closer to the bed and sinks into it. "Okay. She's yours. I want you to have her. I want you to have a family Zelena. I'd really like it if her spot on the family tree didn't also come with a premature death date attached to it. Mother's gone. We don't have the same father. I know absolutely nothing about your father except his first name and the fact that he was a gardener. If he's even still alive, finding him would be next to impossible. You know that."

"Doesn't matter." Zelena says in surrender. "He bailed when Cora by told him about me. Even if he was just around the block and we knew where to find him, I don't think he would be overjoyed to help the daughter he abandoned; much less the granddaughter."

"So, let me get tested. If I don't have the right blood type it's moot anyway, but at least let me try."

Regina's sister laughs harshly. "Let you? Of course, I'll let you. If you have the right blood type, as far as I'm concerned, she can have all of yours!" Zelena turns to the doctor. "Just make my daughter better! I don't care how!"

Motioning for Regina to follow, the doctor steps toward the door. "Come with me, please. The sooner we find out, the better."

 **Chapter 58: Rh Disease**

In the doctor's private office, seated in guest chairs on the opposite side of his desk, Regina and Robin hold hands as he begins. "First of all, I'm Dr. Sheehan. Thank you for coming in Ms. Mills - or is it Mrs. Mills?" He glances at Robin briefly; politely offering the chance for clarification.

Regina smiles, shaking her head. "Not yet. It's Ms. for now. I'm Regina." She inclines her head in Robin's direction. "This is Robin. We're to be married soon; before the end of the year."

"Ahh… Please accept my congratulations. He smiles warmly and nods before getting down to business; addressing his questions to Regina. "What do you know about Rh disease?"

"Probably not a lot. I'd never heard of it until Hades called shortly after lunch time, today. On the flight here, I read what I could from the Internet. I know the web isn't always reliable. So, I did check a variety of different sites to make sure the information I did read was available in more than one place. I did find a couple of conflicting comments here or there, but none of the conflicting information came from anyone with an M.D. behind their name. It seems they were most likely individuals who were misinformed. I've learned that no matter the blood type allele; A, B, or O, most human beings have a positive Rh factor in their red blood cells. I don't really understand it all, but it seems most people's red blood cells contain a protein that makes them considered positive. A much smaller number of people, I forget the exact ratio, are Rh negative, and in order to be Rh negative, both of a person's parents must also be Rh negative. It seems that in order to be positive that you can either have two positive parents, or one of each. If I understand correctly, then what I've read states that when a person has one parent who is positive and one who is negative, the positive Rh factor overtakes the negative and becomes dominant."

"First, let me say that I'm impressed. Most laymen can't pull that much knowledge on the topic from an Internet search. Those that can, would be unlikely to understand half as much of it as you seem to. That ratio you can't remember is 85 to 15. Eighty-five percent of the world's population is Rh positive, only 15% is negative. Beyond that, you're right on all counts but one. A person does not have to have two Rh negative parents to be negative. They only need one parent who is negative. But, negative or positive, both parents must carry the recessive trait.

Regina squints in confusion

Remember, if a person has one parent who is Rh negative and one who is Rh positive, just as you said, the positive factor is the dominant one. Their child becomes positive as well. However; their positive child still carries the negative factor given to it by its negative parent. Then, in adulthood, if that same child conceives a child with someone who is Rh negative… In that instance, the negative factor will become the dominant one and a person who is considered to be Rh positive can give birth to a negative child. When this happens, it is not a problem. However, the opposite is not true. When a mother who is Rh negative conceives a child with a father who is positive… The child may carry the mother's negative factor, but the child itself is positive. This creates a problem. Because the mother's Rh negative blood does not contain that protein that is present in Rh positive blood, the mother's white blood cells will attack the child's red blood cells because the mother's body views them as foreign and infectious. If we doctors are aware of the condition, we can treat it, and it doesn't usually become a serious problem. However, I regret to say that your sister has not undergone the best prenatal care. For whatever reason, she was not informed of her condition in time to prevent serious repercussions. As this is her first child, she did not know to warn her physician, and likewise, any physician she has seen has not checked. If they had, she would've been informed immediately. Because of this, your niece is critically ill. She has the most profound case of anemia I have seen in many years. This can lead to a serious heart condition, heart failure, or even death. She desperately needs a transfusion of O+ blood, and the sooner the better. It's also very likely she will need more than one, because assuming the child survives, Zelena's body is going to continue its attack on the fetus. Of course, we're going to do what we can for both of them, but the child's condition is most severe. It may already be too late."

With no need for further encouragement, Regina stands up, removes her jacket, hands it to Robin, and rolls up her sleeves. Straightening her elbows and putting her arms on display, she says, "Pick an arm. I don't know my blood type. I've never needed to know, but I'm sure it won't take you long to find out. My son tested his own blood type as part of a class biology project. Apparently, they did it right there in the classroom, so the process can't be that difficult; not if my 13-year-old son can do it under classroom supervision."

"it's not difficult at all." Dr. Sheehan smiles. "Come with me. I will escort you down to the lab for some blood work and forgive me for sticking my nose in your private business… but if you are a match and you do wish to donate, we'll need to know if there's any chance you could be pregnant, yourself. If you are, you shouldn't donate. Doing so could land you in a situation, not exactly the same, but no less undesirable than the one your sister is in."

Regina frowns as she reaches for Robin's hand. "I'm fairly certain I'm not; unless I'm just in the very early stages and don't know it yet. For a long time, I was under the impression that I couldn't have children. It's only been just recently that I've learned that's no longer true, and we've just begun using birth control. However, I do know that no contraceptive is 100% effective. Not unless you consider abstinence a form of contraception… and that's not happening here." She gestures adamantly between herself and Robin; drawing a quiet chuckle from the doctor before he opens the door and ushers them out of his office.

 **Chapter 59: Entitlement**

Zelena and Hades jump slightly in response to the heavy-handed knock on the door the instant before the doctor quickly lets himself in without waiting for a response.

Taking in their somewhat startled expressions, he apologizes. "I'm sorry for intruding so noisily. I didn't mean to startle you. I have news."

Hades frowns for an instant as Zelena waves away the apology. "Never mind that!" She points to the small pouch of dark red blood he carries. "Is that for my daughter?" She queries with equal parts fear and hope.

Dr. Sheehan smiles. "It is. Your sister's a fine match. We'll give your baby this as soon as the specialist arrives to do the procedure. It should be any moment now."

Both parents frown. "Can't you do it? Hades asks with bold irritation.

The doctor shakes his head in apology. "I understand you're anxious, but cordocentesis requires someone specially trained in the procedure. If done improperly it could be very dangerous for both your wife and child."

"Where is my sister?" Zelena demands.

"She's resting. She will be here as soon as it is safe for her to be up and about."

"Why is she resting? Is it necessary for her to run a marathon just to donate blood?"

"Of course not." The doctor says calmly. "The average person has about 10 pints of blood in their body. Removing one tends to make people a bit lightheaded."

Zelena stares at the small pouch in his hand. "I thought a pint was bigger than that."

He nods. One pint from your sister is enough to completely replace your baby's blood volume twice. That means two transfusions for your baby. The rest of what Ms. Mills gave today will be put into storage for you until your daughter needs it. Two months from now, your sister will donate again. That should carry you through to the end of the pregnancy. We have put in a request at the local blood banks for more in case your baby should need it before your sister is able to donate again. Your soon-to-be brother-in-law got tested as well. However, he is not a match."

Hades scowls with obvious hostility. "What do you mean before she's able to donate again? Has she put a limit on what she's willing to offer?"

"No sir. Of course not. But it will take your sister-in-law's body approximately nine weeks to make new blood to replace what we've just taken from her. We can't take more than a pint at a time. To do so would be to endanger her health. If your wife does as she's instructed, and if all goes well, the pint Ms. Mills has given should carry her through until it's time for the next donation. We are expecting more blood from outside donations only as a precaution." He turns his full attention to Zelena. "But, you must do as instructed. You must take very good care of yourself and you baby in the interim. No more skipping doctor's appointments."

Zelena literally bites her tongue to keep from telling the man that obstetricians are not readily available in the underworld and that since she is carrying a child who is half-goddess. She hadn't expected mundane human maladies to inflict themselves upon her child. Instead, she says, "To hell with medical ethics. I don't care if you drain every last drop of blood from my sister's body! if my baby girl needs it, it should rightfully be hers."

The doctor stares at her in blatant shock. It's not that he hasn't come across such language in his tenure as a physician. Frightened parents are apt to think any number of horrible thoughts. Most of them do possess some sort of filter that tells them it's best not to say such things out loud. Even those that don't, don't usually sound so militant. In situations like this where a family member is literally willing and able to give their very blood, he has seen even the most estranged kin unite for the good of an innocent life. Despite his best efforts, his professionalism slips momentarily.

"Mrs. Kronopoulos, your daughter's condition is not entirely your fault. None of us is capable of choosing our own blood type. However, it is most certainly not your sister's fault. I don't know what lies between the two of you. I don't need to know, and I don't want to know. Despite your obvious reserve where she is concerned, she is here and she's doing everything humanly possible to help your daughter. I cannot stand my brother-in-law. He's one of the most irksome men I have ever met in my life, but if one of my four children needed blood, he'd be there despite our many differences. If he saved my child's life, I would personally see to it that he led an exalted life from that point forward. Since your sister is the only thing currently standing between your daughter and death, I would try to show a bit more gratitude if I were you. You want to bleed her dry? Before you say that again you might stop to think about the fact that, if she were not here, your baby might very well die!'

He stomps from the room and must consciously force himself not to slam the door. One hand on the wall to the right of the door for support, he bows his head slightly and pulls in a long deep breath. Seconds later, when the nurse and the specialist arrive, he hands over the pouch of blood and the paperwork that goes with it.

When the nurse asks if he's coming in he nods slowly. "Go on in. Get set up. By the time you're ready, I'll be there. I need a moment. Prepare yourselves." He says discreetly. "Those two are the most uninformed, arrogant, entitled specimens of humanity I've seen in a while.

Meanwhile, in the small room adjacent to the hematology lab, Robin steps to Regina's side once more while opening a small chilled carton of orange juice. Sitting down on the edge of the chair she reclines in, he removes the paper wrapping from a small straw and drops it into the carton. "Here drink some more." He encourages; concern evident in his blue eyes.

She offers him a wan smile. "Stop worrying. I'm fine."

Robin chuckles. "Oh yes, I know. You're unstoppable. It's not your fault that every time you try to stand up the room does jumping jacks."

Sipping from her juice, Regina caresses his face affectionately. "Cartwheels Robin, cartwheels. Not jumping jacks."

He shrugs. "Whichever. I know it's one of those ridiculous exercises that makes us look like dim-witted drunken primates."

Regina chuckles quietly, clamping her lips together. She concentrates hard on not choking on her sip of juice. When she can she says, "I suppose we do look rather silly bouncing around like that, but I bet some of Zelena's winged pets would take offense to that comment."

"Bah, who cares what they think. They're flea-infested, mangy, ugly things, and they smell bad too!"

She hands him her juice and then lightly thumps him on the shoulder. "Stop making me laugh! I'm going to choke!"

Robin drops his voice to a discreet level meant for her ears only. "Sorry, Mi'lady. I'm just trying to put some color back in your face. I haven't seen you this pale since the first time you called up the ability to shadow cast, that night in Hades private domain." Flirtatiously, he adds in a whisper "You look whipped; Your Majesty."

She smiles sweetly and scarcely above a whisper, she warns, "Don't flirt with me"

"No? Are you sure?" He tips his head to one side, studying her intently. "I think maybe it's helping. I detect a faint blush rising.

"Maybe but in my present condition, I'll probably go and do something I've never done before. Something humiliating. I'll probably faint and fall flat on my face!"

"Well, we can't have that! As you wish, no flirting."

"At least not yet."

"Oh, when am I allowed to flirt?"

"Take me back to our hotel room. Feed me dinner, and then we can… negotiate the terms of a mutually beneficial deal."

"And what would my queen like to have for dinner."

Instead of continuing, Regina dispenses with the light flirting and gives the question several seconds of serious contemplation before answering. Coffee, with steak; seared to medium rare perfection, sautéed mushrooms, steamed green beans, a green salad, and a nice big bowl of tomato basil soup, oh and ice cream for dessert - rocky road."

Robin raises a doubtful eyebrow. "You can't eat all that! Not in one sitting!"

"Wanna bet?"

Still skeptical, he argues, "I've never seen you eat that much at once." He discreetly slides one hand under the hem of her blouse; his warm palm coming into contact with her flat abdomen. "Where are you going to put it all? Not in here. There isn't room enough."

Regina shrugs. "Just because I don't usually eat that way doesn't mean I can't. I'm hungry. Really hungry."

Robin flashes his smile. "Think you can stand up yet?"

"Probably."

He offers his arm for her to lean on. "Then let's go check on your sister before we leave this place. Watching you sit here with a needle in your arm was no fun."

She rises slowly to her feet as an ugly scowl twists her pretty face. "It was no fun for you? Try being me. I don't like needles."

Robin squeezes her shoulders affectionately. "I've seen you battle dragons, furies, flying monkeys, dark gods and even your mother…"

"And I'd rather face them all at once than donate blood again, but I will if I have to."

"Well then, you deserve dinner!"

 **Chapter 60: Bad Timing**

From the comfort of the bed in their hotel room, Regina watches Robin idly flip through the television channels for the fourth time. Mildly exasperated, she sets down her fork and knife. "What are you looking for?"

With his own minor exasperation, he answers, "Anything worth my time."

Regina laughs merrily. "You won't find it on the idiot box. Don't you know, there's nothing good on TV. Look in the front pocket of my suitcase. I brought three books with me. Pick one, or if you like…" She talks behind her hand as she yawns, "We can go out for a walk."

Robin snaps off the TV and squints at the digital clock on the desk across the room. "You want to go out for a walk, at this hour, in this city. Not a good idea my love. New York is not Storybrooke."

Regina sets her room service tray aside on the nightstand. "Well, I need some kind of exercise to burn off all these calories. You were right. I couldn't eat all that."

Robin chuckles softly as he glances at the leftover steak and soup on the tray. "I didn't think you could. Although, to be fair, you still eat twice as much as I thought you would. I guess donating blood makes a lady hungry."

"It does." She affirms. If we don't get up and go do something, 45 minutes from now I'm going to be in a food coma."

Changing positions on the bed beside her, he comes to his knees catches her behind hers, and pulls her down on the bed into a more gratifying position. Stretching his body out over hers, he rests on his elbows and declares sensually… "If it's exercise you want, I'll be happy to oblige."

Wrapping her arms around him, Regina smiles that smile. The one that is reserved just for him. The one no one else ever sees. and just like every other time he's seen it, it thrills him all the way to his toes.

He kisses her until her body goes soft and pliable in his arms. When she mews with contentment he breaks away long enough to study her with mild concern. "Are you sure you're not too tired."

Regina's rich laughter contains something wicked in its dark depths.

"I'll take that as a no."

"We'll be just fine Robin Hood as long as you don't lay here and talk to me until that food coma sets in. Move fast enough and maybe we can bypass it."

They take the time to enjoy the foreplay. Teasing each other, delighting in one other. Fifteen minutes later, when their breath is heated, their lips gently bruised and hungry for more, just as their hands become frustrated with clothing; a knock sounds at the door to their hotel room.

Regina growls loudly and waves a hand in the general direction of the door without breaking a kiss. At least not until there's no resounding explosion to immediately follow the gesture. Turning her head to one side, she glares at her own palm in confusion until Robin catches on and bold laughter erupts from deep inside his chest.

"That's not going to work here in New York, Your Majesty. "He whispers while straightening his clothes as he leaves the bed.

Seeing to her own attire, Regina growls again. "I forgot where we are." She hisses quietly as she comes to her feet.

Still chuckling softly, Robin opens the door just wide enough to see out. When he sees who their visitor is he runs a hand through his hair. "Hades, anybody ever tell you that you have lousy timing!"

"No, I can't say anyone ever has."

"Well. You do. That's twice in one day."

"What's twice in one day?" The temporarily powerless god asks.

"Never mind that." They both hear Regina call sternly from somewhere inside the room. With notably less enthusiasm, she says, "Just let him in, Robin."

As Hades steps over the threshold, he takes in the slightly disheveled look of the two of them, their stiff posture - both of them standing at attention - the warm rosy color in Regina's neck and face, and the, technically still made, but seriously rumpled bed. He instantly catches on.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he offers, "My apologies. I wanted to come by in person and say thank you. The doctor is still waiting for further improvement before he's ready to pronounce it a success, but things are already better. Zelena is resting for the first time in days. She's actually sleeping."

Regina relaxes almost imperceptibly. "Good. I'm glad it's working. I hope she'll be okay. I hope they both will."

"Hades studies her for a moment. "You mean that; I can tell. Thank you. I owe you."

As Regina waves the comment aside, saying, "Not necessary." Hades steps forward without a word of warning and hugs her awkwardly.

Stricken by his unexpected show of gratitude, Regina stands stock still for a moment, glancing at Robin over his shoulder in alarm, before patting his lean bicep and carefully extracting herself from his embrace.

Uneasy because he's wholly unfamiliar with gratitude, and also because he's aware that she's uncomfortable, Hades backtracks toward the door. "Well, I should be going. I only stepped out for some air. I should get back before she wakes."

Regina nods making a conscious effort not to rub her own forearms. "We will be here a few more days. You know how to reach us."

"Yes, I do… and don't worry about Zelena. I think she'll come around. Right now, she's just scared… and scared people are apt to…"

"Do bad things?" Regina supplies for him. "How well I know."

He nods in farewell, and Robin closes the hotel room door behind him.

As soon as he's out of sight, Regina rubs her arms, makes a sour face, and shivers uncomfortably.

When Robin smiles and raises an eyebrow along with the words, "That was bloody well unexpected."

Regina whispers hoarsely. "I think I need a shower. I feel like Lucy."

"Lucy?"

"Lucy Van Pelt from the Peanuts comic strip. She was rather excitable. The comic strip was turned to holiday TV specials. After Charlie Brown's dog, Snoopy, licked her, she went into a frenzy. "Ugh! Help I've been kissed by a dog! Boil some water! Get me some iodine! I need some disinfectant! That's probably not an exact quote, but it was something close to that. When Henry was Roland's age, he loved to watch Charlie Brown. Every time Lucy when into hysterics, he would fall down, roll on the floor, and laugh like a merry little loon."

Smiling, his blue eyes twinkling in the dimly lit room, Robin approaches and wraps his arms around her. "Hey, look at it this way, if he can persuade his wife to relent and stop making our lives miserable, maybe it was worth the hug."

Shaking her head, Regina scowls and wrinkles her nose. I'd rather she just hate me. She probably enjoyed being that close to you - you're very sexy, you know - I'm not looking for a little quid pro quo with her man.

He smiles and winks as he offers her his hand and leads her into the bathroom. "Come on. We'll get in the shower and wash all his nasty germs away and you can tell me more about how sexy I am."

Laughing, Regina rolls her eyes but follows along without protest.

 **Chapter 61: New York Shopping Spree**

Leaving the hotel terrace, Regina drops her empty coffee cup in a convenient trash can and then places her hand in Robin's as he squints in mild confusion first at her, and then at her choice of footwear.

"What?" She checks the clean soles of her new athletic shoes, assuming, by the look on his face, that she must've stepped in something.

He smiles in the late morning sunlight and waves dismissively. "Not your usual choice of footwear. That's all. I probably wouldn't have noticed except you're three inches shorter."

"Yes, well the last time I was here…" She pauses to offer him a mysterious smile. "I got pretty hot under the collar and did a mad dash across half of lower Manhattan in those three-inch heels you just mentioned. By the time we get home, my feet were very unhappy with me. Given my plans today, I thought I'd be kinder to them."

"Why? Are you planning to walk the other half?

"I'll walk the whole city if that's what it takes. I'm on a mission."

"Ahh yes, Operation Evergreen

Regina laughs. "Henry?"

"But of course."

Only he could take our wedding and turn it into some sort of covert mission. Nice one though. Not obvious; implies longevity, possibly even immortality. I like it!"

Robin smiles. "I'm rather fond of it myself."

She brushes his lips with the light kiss. "What are your plans today?"

"Depends on how long you take."

Regina's eyes go wide. "Robin, dress shopping could take days!"

"I sort of thought you might say something like that. I'll tag alone for a few minutes, but when I get bored, I'll leave you to it and go see the sights if that's alright? I didn't get to do too much of that when I was here before. My phony wife wasn't interested … And she was a bit clingy too. Which, I suppose, should have been a clue. Marian never was. I just thought it was because she was in such an unfamiliar place."

Regina nods. "Go see… whatever you like. We don't have to spend every moment in each other's company. If you find anything that really makes an impression while you're out sightseeing, let me know about it and we can revisit together if you like."

"If this takes days..." He teases, "You are planning on coming back to the hotel room at night to sleep, right?"

Regina rolls her eyes. "I will have to sleep eventually." She declares as if the simple necessity for sleep annoys her. "I am not the energizer bunny."

"All evidence to the contrary." He replies with a whisper and a sultry smile as memories of why they got such a late start this morning fill his mind and, once again, bring a thrill to his body.

Playfully, she nudges him, pushing him half a step away. "You started it! You woke me up before dawn just to have your way with me."

Stepping in close again and returning his hand to hers, he whispers a mild accusation warm against her ear. "I may have started it, but you finished it - rather gloriously."

She shrugs, unashamed. "That's what you get!"

"Really? In that case...I'm going to wake you up more often!"

"It wasn't just the fact that you woke me up. I'm not even sure if you were aware of it, but…you bit me, Robin."

He laughs. "Oh, I assure you, I was very much aware. You bit me first! I figured if you wanted to play rough, I'd give as good as I got."

"You always do." She declares quietly, with soft appreciation. "I bit first? I don't remember that."

"You were still sleepy. I don't think you were really awake yet."

She's quiet for a long moment, a slow easy smile spreading across her face before she shakes her head as if to clear her mind. "We have to change the subject because if we don't, the only place we're going is back to our hotel room, which would be delectable, but I really do want to go shopping today. Though, if we're going to separate at some point during the day, I need to go buy a new phone first."

"Okay, lead the way, Mi'lady."

After using his phone to acquire directions, Regina steps to the nearest curb and hails a cab, making it look as if it's something she'd done every day of her life.

Their short cab ride takes them into the heart of Manhattan. As planned, their first stop is the local branch of a cellular shop where Regina gives the sales clerk her account information and quickly purchases a replacement phone. Once the phone is operational, and they are out on the city sidewalk once more, she phones Emma and leaves a message letting the blonde know that she can be reached at the same number she had prior to damaging the old phone. She also passes on word that she was able to donate blood for her sister's baby and that, as of last night, the transfusion seems to have helped.

From his place at her side, Robin chuckles.

As she hangs up the phone, she raises an eyebrow. "What's funny?"

"You make it sound as if the damage to the phone was done accidentally."

"Do you want me to tell her that I intentionally roasted the thing during sex?"

Robin doesn't even have to think it over. "No, let's keep that just between us."

She nods in quiet assurance. "I thought so."

They walk two blocks in the sunshine hand in hand, in no hurry, but heading in the general direction of the first shop Regina wants to browse in search of her dress. On their way, Robin quietly takes notes of several men in work day attire. When a well-dressed man in an expensively tailored suit politely brushes by on the crowded sidewalk, he says, "I guess you won't be the only one who needs something to wear."

She smiles. "True, but I can't dress my men appropriately until I know what my dress looks like. It all starts with the dress."

"Your men?"

She nods. "You, Daddy, Henry, and Roland. No one should clash with the bride. So, colors, fabrics, and the degree of formality at have to be decided, before I can shop for the four of you. Plus, you're all in significantly different age ranges with varying personalities."

"What's age, or for that matter; personality, got to do with the wedding attire."

Lightheartedly, she teases, "Spoken like a man who believes the only purpose of clothing is to cover one's body."

Robin shrugs. "That is the purpose of clothing."

Regina rolls her eyes. "That is a purpose of clothing. It is not the only purpose. You'll all look your best, of course, but it must be done properly. Daddy's attire should be stately and elegant. You'll be handsome no matter what you wear, but I think it should be something light weight with maybe just a touch of finery. Nothing too rigid or outrageously proper. You won't be comfortable dressed that way all day. Neither will Roland. I was thinking black and white - simple, classic - but for Henry, and especially for Roland, I think we might have to add a small splash of some other color; something that will stand out in the photos – Ruby, eggplant, or maybe hunter."

Robin squints in obvious confusion.

"Red, purple or dark green." Regina supplies translation. "For bow ties, handkerchiefs, cummerbunds … that sort of thing. Give it though. Decide if you have a preference."

Robin shakes his head. "Whatever makes you happiest."

"I know men don't really care about this stuff, but it is your wedding too."

"I care. I just don't have a preference about colors, or clothing styles."

"Well, what do you have a preference about? Is there anything you do specifically want?"

He nods. "I want it to be the wedding you've always wished for, Regina. The one that you weren't allowed to have the first time around. I want you flying high on our wedding day, not weighed down by unwanted obligations that wait for you. I want a happy bride."

She stops walking and wraps herself in his arms for a long moment before offering him a tender kiss that is a good deal more than chaste.

When they part, he shakes his head in response to the unseeing crowd of passersby around them. "If we did \that on a public sidewalk in Storybrooke at 10:45 AM, by lunchtime the entire town would be talking about it. Here, no one even notices."

"See." She declares without releasing him from their embrace. I told you we could use a little getaway. Someplace where I don't have to feel the constant pull of light vs. dark. Someplace where we don't have to worry about who's watching us misbehave. We don't know anybody here… except for Hades and Zelena. I doubt we'll be bumping into them today. And even if we do, I don't really care if they see us like this." She tried to pull us apart. He helped her in that endeavor. He even allowed her to use his child like some kind of stage prop. What kind of man does that, Robin?"

He shrugs. "Hades, I guess. I wouldn't. I don't think I know anyone else who would either." With his arm around her shoulders, they walk a few more steps. "I understand the desire to make a woman happy but…"

"You wouldn't go that far." Regina concludes for him before she realizes she's no longer the sole beneficiary of his attention. Turning, with a curiously raised eyebrow, warm laughter bubbles out of her when she realizes what has so thoroughly caught his eye and arrested his speech. Gazing into a window display outside a well-known lingerie store, she gently reaches over and pushes his lower jaw up; closing his open mouth.

After a moment spent frozen in mild shock, Robin scowls and shakes his head. "I shouldn't be surprised." He declares eyeing garters, stockings and other intimate apparel in a variety of colors. "A few months ago. I encountered a woman in white overalls. She had on a bright red brassiere, and no shirt. When I politely suggested that perhaps the lady had forgotten part of her ensemble, she slapped me and then she said I was a pervert from looking at her. Who the bloody hell walks around half-naked in public if they don't want to be looked at?"

Laughing, Regina hugs him close to her side and squeezes his shoulder. "Nobody. You nailed it. If she didn't want to be looked at, she wouldn't dress that way."

"Then why did she slap me?"

"In a word, immaturity. She probably looked at you and decided she didn't want you looking at her, but instead of taking responsibility for her own poor choices, she blamed, and then retaliated against. you."

"it's no wonder young ladies are confused about how to dress here if they put lady's undergarments in the front window of the stores."

"Robin, sweetheart, I don't think that's why they are confused. Most of them are confused because their mothers never taught them any better, and if this store didn't put such things in the front window they'd have nothing to sell. This is Victoria's Secret. Lady's lingerie is all this store does sell."

"Really? Doesn't that make it hard for them to stay in business?"

Regina raises an eyebrow. "Stand here on the sidewalk for five minutes. Count the number of men who walk by drooling and then ask me that."

He shrugs and nods. "On second thought, they probably get the most business on the block."

"You want to go inside?"

"What for? Don't have to. It's in the front window."

"There's more to see inside." She laughs.

Robin shakes his head. "I'd rather not. I don't care for another run-in like the one I had with the blonde in white overalls."

"No one's going to slap you inside this store. First, that would be bad for business. Second, they are used to men wandering in off the street. Trust me, the ladies in there are big girls. They know how to behave, and third, if anybody does dare to touch you, they'll have me to answer to."

Robin gives it another moment's thought, but still shakes his head self-consciously.

"Okay, we won't go in. Just tell me which one you like the best." She says with quiet discretion.

"The pink one in the corner over on the left."

Regina wrinkles her nose. "Pink? Really? Robin, that get-up is the color of Pepto-Bismol!"

He nods and whispers for her ears only, "it's not the color that appeals to me… it's the corset."

"Ohh…" She chuckles quietly. "I see. You know, I already have a closet full of corsets, right?"

A wide easy grin slowly appears on Robin's face. "Yes, I know, and I love every blessed and one of them! The only thing better than you in them, is you out of them."

"C'mon, we should get going, but I'll keep that in mind. if I manage to find a dress before sunset, maybe I'll come back here and buy you something."

Robin places his hand in hers again and stays at her side for the first hour. He knows within two minutes of walking into the first three shops that she's unimpressed by what she sees. Each one has a store clerk who politely asks to know what she was looking for; if she has a particular dress in mind. Each time, Regina tells them she will know it when she finds it, and each time Robin is not at all surprised when she leaves the store in under ten minutes. To him, all the dresses he sees, look remarkably similar, and he supposes that they do to Regina as well. Nothing really grabs her attention until they walk past a dress shop that isn't on her list and some dress visible from the window catches her eye. Tugging at his hand, she pulls him into the shop with moderate enthusiasm. However, said enthusiasm dies a quick death when she gets a closer look at the dress and then its price tag.

"No!" she breathes in a discreet but adamant whisper.

Robin turns the price tag over in his own hand and then drops it as if it left a third-degree burn on his palm when he sees the four digits in front of the decimal point.

"Come on, let's get out of here before we get waylaid by another overzealous store clerk who works on commission."

They don't make it. Halfway to the door, a middle-aged woman in powder blue offers them a hungry smile. "You like that one? It's marked down 15%."

"It's not quite what I'm looking for." Regina says politely, still trying to make it to the door.

The older woman eyes the attractive couple with what she thinks is a skilled intellect for judging shoppers. "You should talk to Charles. He's our in-house designer. He's got an eye for brides and what they want in a wedding dress."

"I'm sure that comes in handy, given his place of employment." Regina forces a smile.

Before she can exit the shop, Charles appears. With the skill of an accomplished tailor, and the kind of gushing flamboyance that young, first-time brides find flattering, he takes Regina's measurements at a glance. "Oh, my stars! Honey, with that figure and your regal posture you simply must come try on my Princess Stephanie design."

As Robin holds the door for her, Regina offers the dressmaker a cool smile "Forgive me for declining."

"I'm sure we have something that will meet with your approval." The sales clerk tries again.

Before the door latch slides into place, Robin offers, "Not all brides are fairy tale princesses. Some of them are queens." He smiles and leaves them staring after him in confusion.

Out on the sidewalk once more, Regina raises an eyebrow. "Had enough?"

Robin runs his fingers through his hair. "About two shops ago."

Smiling, she touches his face with affection. "I'll see you later? Say… 7:00 for dinner?"

"Okay, where? The hotel?"

Regina shakes her head. "Let's go out somewhere. No place fancy. I didn't bring formal dinner attire, but let's try to go out like a normal couple and have a date that doesn't end with the two of us battling magical beings, or portal jumping to some less than desirable place."

He nods agreeably. "I'm on board. Where would you like to go?"

"You pick the place. I'll meet you in Rockefeller Center at seven."

"I'll be there. Call me if you need me before then."

"You too." She kisses him lightly before they head off in separate directions.

Regina spends the rest of her day visiting shop after shop. At 1:00 P.M she grabs an espresso and skips lunch in frustration; still having found nothing that pleases her. At 2:15 PM she passes a store front. The dresses in the display window are not wedding dresses, but they do finally give her a concrete idea of what she's looking for. The next few store clerks politely shake their heads. They don't have what she's looking for, but a few offer to place orders which, in turn, leads Regina to shake her head. By 5:00 she's disgusted and tired but she decides to visit one last place. The store clerk at the previous place actually recommended it and gave her the address. Outside, on the sidewalk, Regina sighs heavily. The Jade Shop is a small establishment, probably privately owned and not likely to have what she wants, but she squares her shoulders as she opens the door. She's here. She may as well take a look.

Inside, the place is heavily perfumed with potpourri, and its more than a little bit cramped with more clothing racks than it should hold, but the woman behind the small counter in the center of the shop is pleasantly sedate; giving her several minutes to browse uninterrupted. Only when Regina makes significant eye contact does she finally leave her post and approach with a quiet, "How can help?"

Regina offers a general idea of what she's looking for and mentally crosses her fingers when the shop's owner, runs a practiced eye over her figure and says in a soft voice, "Come with me, please."

Two hours later, when she finds Robin waiting for her on a park bench not far from the entrance to Rockefeller Center, she offers him a dazzling smile.

 **Chapter 62: The Music of the Night**

The evening air is warm and balmy as Robin drops a light kiss on Regina's upturned cheek. "Judging by the smile on your face. You found a dress."

Regina sighs in comical exasperation. "Yes… in the last place I looked. At 5:00."

Robin chuckles dryly. "Well, I hope it was the last place you looked! If you found it, and then kept looking, I'd be worried about you. But… Not until five? That made for a long day."

Regina nods. "Where are we going for dinner? I'm starving! I skipped lunch."

"How about here?" He gestures toward the entrance to the world-renowned Rockefeller Center and then toward the picnic basket under the bench. "I picked up soup, salad, cheese and crackers. If you want to, after the concert, we'll go for coffee and dessert at The Magnolia Bakery."

"What concert?"

Robin shrugs and shakes his head. "I got tickets to something called Symphony Under the Stars." He hands her a program. "I've never heard of it, but I thought you might like it."

She returns his light kiss with enthusiasm and offers him another bright smile. "I've always wanted to go to one of these," She waves the program. "Every time they do a performance anywhere near Maine, I'm too busy to attend!"

"Well, not tonight, you aren't." Robin winks and retrieves the picnic basket before he offers her his arm.

Through the entry, he guides her down the wide concrete steps into Rockefeller Plaza and, instead of choosing from one of the many benches that are strategically placed to allow visitors to relax and unwind, he chooses an out of the way spot for their blanket and settles in ahead of the crowds. Before unpacking their Alfresco meal, he pats the blanket beside himself inviting his dinner date to scoot a bit closer.

Feeling carefree, unburdened by the many things that usually weigh her down, Regina teases him and slides only a fraction of an inch closer.

In response, Robin reaches out enthusiastically. With one arm around her waist and the other hand gently cupping the back of her knee, he tugs with playfully, gruff affection until his right hip is pressed firmly to her left. "There, that's better." He declares, bobbing his chin as if he's taking pride in the accomplishment.

While the symphony begins to warm up before the performance, the lively notes of a bubbly tune fill the air, and people passing by smile, and stop to listen.

Regina laughs. "Any closer and I will be in your lap!"

He shrugs as he passes her a large take-out container of chicken caesar salad and a hearty steaming cup of cabbage soup. "I wouldn't mind a bit." He opens a bottle of water for her and watches her take a few eager bites before she sets plastic utensils aside and opens the program.

She peruses the pamphlet silently for a moment before quietly announcing, "It looks like they're doing a tribute to popular musicals tonight. We've in for highlights from… Gypsy, Jubilee, My Fair Lady, Show Boat, West Side Story, Hair Spray, Chicago, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Cabaret, and a few more."

Robin raises an eyebrow. "Wicked?"

Laughing, she nods. "It's a musical spinoff from the Wizard of Oz with the witches of Oz as the main characters instead of Dorothy."

"Would your sister approve?" He asks quietly.

Regina shrugs as she takes a bite of salad before answering. That's not likely. She would love that Dorothy isn't the focal point of the performance, but even in Wicked, the character based on her, Elphaba, still suffers a very public fall from grace."

"So, even in theatrical performances, villains can't catch a break."

"Not usually. There are some popular reversed versions of this world's common fairy tales that do present those of us thought of as villains as the protagonists, and they do have a following but the widely-known versions, usually captured by Walt Disney, are still the favorites.

More early arrivers for the night's performance began to filter in and the orchestra slides into an upbeat medley as Robin says in a hushed tone meant for her ears only, "Roland asked to rent a movie one day a few weeks ago." He pauses for a bite of food. "He asked to rent Snow White, but I was hesitant about that one, given this world's view of things. So, he picked Disney's version of Robin Hood. He laughed like a pint-sized asylum reject the first time my character was on screen, giggling and screeching, 'Daddy the TV is really confused! It thinks you're a fox!' Then, after that, every time the character appeared, he would shout at the television, 'That is not what my dad looks like!"

"I haven't watched it, but at least Disney got something right. You are pretty foxy; stealthy like a fox!" Regina chuckles quietly. "That's probably why Disney chose that particular animal to represent your character."

"Aww, and I thought a for a moment there you're commenting on my looks."

Regina laughs boldly. "Well, there's that too. Aside from being mildly annoyed over their misrepresentation of you, did Roland like the movie?"

"He took it all in fun. We haven't watched Snow White because something tells me he might not be so forgiving of Disney's betrayal of you."

Regina cringes. "It's the G-rated version of the story. Disney got the basic plot right, but very little else, there are dwarves, but they are short, adorable, little urchins with long beards and balding heads; not taciturn middle-aged men with heavy 5:00 shadows. But in the Disney movie, the queen hated Snow for nothing more than being considered prettier than she. There were no forced unwanted marriages, no secret love affairs exposed. The queen of hearts was not her mother. In fact, the queen of hearts is from an entirely different story; Alice in Wonderland. The wicked queen - I guess Disney didn't want to call her evil; Old Walt may have considered that too harsh a word for tender-aged audiences - was a pretty woman, but she was pretty in a stately elegance sort of way. She was not a sugary-sweet soprano singing, doe-eyed, innocent, royal virgin, who was busy dreaming of her Prince Charming. They painted the queen as a terribly insecure woman who sought to kill over nothing more than physical beauty. She was so driven to do the deed that she drank one of her own horrid magical concoctions and turned herself into an ugly, hook-nosed, old hag who peddled magical\poison apples. In the end, her relentless pursuit of her narcissistic goal leads to a long fall off a very tall, rain-drenched, mountain cliff. Immediately after impact, what was left of her was pulverized by a very large, very heavy, boulder. Then the prince comes riding up to find his true love laid out in a glass coffin in the forest with the dwarves standing vigil. He kisses Snow White, she wakes up, and they ride off into the sunset just before the credits roll."

Robin's handsome face twists into a hideous scowl as he sips from a bottle of water. "Disney thought this was appropriate for small children? A person's mangled body at the bottom of a cliff, being crushed by a giant boulder?"

"It's not actually shown; just implied."

"I don't care. Roland is not watching that." He declares adamantly.

Laughing quietly, Regina touches his face with tender affection. "You'll get no argument from me! Henry asked to watch it when he was six. I did know what it was like. I hadn't seen it at that point, and I'd never read this world's version of the story. He was small, and he didn't have his storybook yet, but even then, he may have sensed something because he howled, screamed and wailed. He slept with me every night for three weeks after watching it. It terrorized him. He wouldn't let me out of his sight. If I closed the bathroom door, when I opened it again, I would find him standing just outside with tears in his eyes; pleading for my return. We stopped watching Disney after that. However, if Roland took Disney's version of Robin Hood well, there have been several movie adaptations of your story. Most of them aren't animated. Some of them even hire very nice looking men to play the lead role. Although most women in this world might consider me exceedingly strange for this, I'm not a fan of the one starring Kevin Costner, and that one was a box office smash in 1991. I suppose he had his day in the sun. But I've never found him terribly appealing; even less so now that I've met the genuine article. There's even a b-rated spinoff that I know of about your supposed daughter." Regina wrinkles her nose before interjecting, "Roland may not like that one. She was born in his place. It's titled Princess of Thieves. I've seen worse. I've seen better."

Robin wipes his mouth on a napkin. "It'll probably be something else for me to laugh at." He grins. "Like that book you gave me… and, of course, none of these stories, not in print or on the screen, mention you at all."

She shakes her head; her eyes going wide. "Nope, not a one."

"Well that's a shame! If left up to the producers, the playwrights, and the authors of this world, I would have no one to give this to." He reaches into his jacket pocket and extracts a small square box. Gently turning her free hand palm up, he places the jeweler's box there and waits with quiet expectation.

Moved beyond the capacity for speech, Regina holds her breath as she wastes no time setting what's left of her meal aside; her hungry stomach forgotten about the instant the soft lavender colored velvet caressed her skin.

Robin watches a myriad of both, well-recognized and undefinable emotions play across her face. She smiles beautifully one second, squints with indecision the next, offers him a look of sweet and intense longing, before she squints again, scowls, looks as if she's being tortured, and then inexplicably shakes her head.

"You better take it back." She whispers hoarsely as if the words are literally being dragged from her lips.

Completely at a loss, entirely unprepared for this response, Robin grunts softly as if he's been slapped. Dread and confusion cloud his blue eyes and he pales noticeably in the evening glow of the street lights. "Regina, why…" The words 'would I do that?' die a silent death on his lips when he feels her soft caress on his worried face.

"Because if I open the box, Robin, I'm going to want to keep what's inside it forever."

Fear and despondency evaporate immediately as laughter tumbles out of him and he wraps an arm around her and holds her tight. "Well love, that is the idea."

"I know but… Uh uh." She shakes her head and forces herself to set the box down on his thigh decisively. "Robin, you can't afford anything that comes in a box like that. Don't get me wrong, I love jewelry and…" She pauses just long enough to groan in supreme frustration. "I really, really want whatever's inside that very pretty box… but I don't need it. You live a simple, uncomplicated, debt-free life. I like that about you. I don't want you changing everything just for me. You don't have to do that."

"First, I am not changing everything. But, if you're expecting absolutely nothing to change, it's already too late for that, and I think we both know it. Secondly, I was expecting to have to spend the next few decades paying for that big old barn and all the renovations that needed to be made in order to make it livable. Zeus was kind enough to take care of that for me. The pittance of money I have managed to save in preparation for that, went toward the down payment for what's in this box. I picked it up today while you were dress shopping. Some of the jewelry in that store might actually cost more than a house. This doesn't. I promise it doesn't even come close to what I thought that barn would cost us. I can pay it off in a fraction of the 30 or 40 years I was anticipating for a mortgage. You would've had it when I proposed if I had given it any forethought; if I hadn't done it on the spur of the moment in the underworld. You should have a proper engagement ring, Regina. And, given our widely different backgrounds, I am absolutely certain that there are going to be times when we disagree with each other about money. Can we please not make this one of them?" He shakes his head adamantly as he points to the box still resting on his thigh. "Because I am not taking that ring back. I want you to have it. I refuse to take it back… unless you can look me in the eye right now and tell me you don't want to marry m…"

She covers his lips with soft fingertips. "Stop Robin. Please stop talking. Don't even say that out loud." She hugs him tightly and snuggles close, resting her head on his shoulder as lights come up; brightening slightly in anticipation of the start of the outdoor concert. The orchestra opens sweetly and poignantly with 'The Music of the Night' from Phantom of the Opera as Regina opens the box with a soft, nearly inaudible, gasp at the modest, but stunning, oval cut diamond ring nestled inside.

 **Chapter 63: Finding Common Ground**

Before she enters the door to her sister's hospital room, Regina takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders as if preparing for battle. For a moment, she considers turning and walking away. Before her feet can comply with the self-serving thought, she forces herself past the point of no return with something as simple as a knock.

Scarcely two seconds tick by before Hades quietly opens the door. He doesn't smile, he doesn't frown, he simply steps back from the door and grants her entry. "Regina has come to visit, my love."

From the bed, Zelena glances up and for a single flicker in time she almost smiles. The corners of her mouth lifting almost imperceptibly before she catches herself.

"Careful Greenie." Regina deadpans. "For a split second there, you almost looked happy to see me."

Zelena shrugs nonchalantly and rolls her eyes. "At least you're not another vampire."

Squinting, Regina defers to the doctor standing near the foot of his patient's bed. "You have vampires here?" She asks with a skeptically raised eyebrow.

The doctor laughs. "She's referring to the nursing staff. Specifically, Nurse Carmichael who draws her blood twice a day. I assure you, it is quite necessary."

"I promised myself that if they could help my baby I wouldn't complain, but I'm starting to feel like a human pincushion!"

Regina steps close to the bed and helps herself to the only chair in the room. "In a few months, when you can hold your daughter in your arms, when you see her for the first time, you'll remember being a pincushion, and it won't matter anymore."

"How would you know? It's not like you've ever…" She stops short and sighs heavily before adding, just above a whisper, "Never mind… Thank you for helping."

Regina's eyes widen slightly in surprise, but instead of offering a sarcastic retort about how those words must've hurt to say, she says simply, and just as quietly, "You're welcome, Zelena."

Zelena takes in the empty space around her sister. "Where's your shadow?"

For an instant, Regina squints in mild confusion and then smirks. "Robin is not my shadow… and…" She decides to be honest. "He didn't want to come."

"Really, Hades seems to think he's in favor of you and I getting along with one another."

"He is, but Robin only wants that for my sake. Personally, he wants nothing more to do with you, Zelena and after what you've done, you can hardly blame him for that."

"I barely… did… anything."

"I know what you're referring to, and that hardly matters. The intent was there. The intent was enough. And don't forget..." Regina eyes the doctor and chooses her next words with painstaking care. "He lost someone he loved because of your interference. Someone he still, and always will, love."

"He has you now." Zelena breathes quietly looking small and peevish.

"Yes, he does have me, but the presence of a new love doesn't wipe an old one from existence."

Zelena studies her sister speculatively for a moment before asking, "Doesn't that bother you. Don't you feel like you're in competition with the ghost?"

"I'm in competition with no one, Zelena. He can keep all the memories of Marian he wants. If he were the sort of man who could stop loving a woman, simply because she died, I would want absolutely nothing to do with him."

"But don't you want to be everything to someone?"

Regina gives the question serious thought before shaking her head. "You're projecting. You're the one who wants to be everything to someone. Probably because you know how it feels to be nothing to someone – and I am sorry you know what that feels like Zelena – but no, I don't want to be Robin's everything. That would eventually become exhausting. All I want from him is the chance to be with him… and I am." When she can no longer stomach discussing Robin with her sister, Regina holds up the heavy white paper sack she brought along with her. "Hades called me this morning. He said you were hungry, and that you might be going home tomorrow or the next day."

The doctor nods affirmatively as Zelena asks, "You brought me food?"

Regina opens the bag and passes her a foil-wrapped package the size of a large burrito. "Greek gyro. With spicy chicken, enchilada soup, decaf latte… and you didn't ask for it, but I brought you this smoothie."

Zelena eyes the clear drinking container and scowls in response to the color of the thick liquid within. "I know that you know that I like the color green, Regina, but what is your fascination with that particularly putrid shade? Nothing a person drinks should be that color. You keep supplying me with those things; first back in Storybrooke, and now here!"

Regina shrugs, at a loss for understanding. "They are good for you. This one does not have any kale in it though. It's made with banana, pineapple, and spinach."

Zelena's scowls repugnantly. "Why would you go and put spinach in a nice treat like that?"

"For the iron it contains. The yogurt and the banana make it nice and creamy, the pineapple makes it sweet without refined sugar, and it also completely overtakes the taste of the spinach. Honestly, try it. You'll like it. That is, if you drink it, as opposed to throwing it across the room."

Zelena scowls again. "You like that slop so much, you drink it!"

"I do drink them; fairly often. This one is meant for you. You need the extra iron Zelena or, at least, your baby does. She's severely anemic. You need to feed her blood."

A look of horror crosses Zelena's face. "My baby is a goddess! She is not a vampire! I'm not giving her blood to drink or whatever else you put in that smoothie that you didn't mention!"

Both the doctor and Regina squint in momentary confusion until, catching on, Regina rolls her eyes, stands up, and - with mounting exasperation - smacks her sister soundly on the back of the head.

The doctor has the good grace not to laugh aloud, but the faintest traces of a smile do grace the corners of his mouth as, stunned beyond speech by the harmless but unexpected assault, Zelena glowers menacingly.

Hades takes a single protective step closer to his wife's bedside.

Regina waves him off in annoyance with "Relax Dad!" before glaring harshly at her sister. "I am not trying to poison you! Nor am I suggesting that you feed your child blood. What I am suggesting is that you nourish her blood; you paranoid, uppity, little twit! You think I came all the way to New York just to do you in?"

"I wouldn't put it past you!"

"Wake up Zelena!" She continues to hiss; her quiet words laced with acid. "My world, unlike yours, does not revolve around my sister. I am not fixated on you! If I wanted you done in, I could've stayed at home in bed with Robin, saved myself the trip - and the pint of blood! I could have sat back, refused to lift a finger, and waited for your own body to kill your child." With her hands on her hips, Regina breathes deeply and forces herself to silently count to five, before deliberately lowering herself back into the chair. She crosses her legs and laces her fingers in front of a kneecap. "You have given me nothing but grief since the very moment I met you…and you've done it for reasons that are far beyond my control. It stops now! Before this pregnancy is over you are going to need at least one more transfusion. You don't have to be my best friend, you don't even have to like me, but if you want my help, if you do not want me to get up and walk out that damn door and never come back; you will cease and desist immediately!"

A momentary flash of panic fills Zelena's eyes. "I'm sorry. Don't go…please." She reaches for Regina's hand and stops short at the sight of new jewelry. "Is that?"

Regina nods quietly.

"You're getting married?"

"We are; yes."

"When?"

"Sometime in the next few months. We haven't set a date yet."

Zelena's squints. "I can't picture Robin living in your house."

Regina laughs coolly. "Neither can I. We had tentative plans to buy a new place and merge our lives, our children, our homes… Everything. Zeus was kind enough to take care of it for us. Robin has already moved in. Daddy, Henry, and I will be joining he and Roland after the wedding."

"Right, Hades mentioned you…" She clears her throat. "Ahem… brought your father back with you. You couldn't have brought Mother along for the ride?"

"I couldn't have done it alone. I didn't do it myself, Zelena. Even if I could, bringing Mother back to Storybrooke would not work out in our favor. She's wounded us both irrevocably. Folding her back into our lives would only be an invitation for her to do more of the same. Besides, when the time is right, Robin and I do want to have a child. I cannot do that with Mother in Storybrooke. I will not allow her to be part of the lives of my children, and just in case the two of you might have bonded, even a little bit, when you were last with her, I advise the two of you to keep your own child away from her as well. She'd only be too happy to insert herself into your daughter's life for her own purely self-serving reasons; whatever they may be."

Zelena's scowls. "The woman abandoned me and left me for dead. She's never touching my daughter. If I have my way about it, she will never lay eyes on my daughter!"

Regina's laughter is devoid of humor; dry and brittle. "What do you know? Something we finally agree on."

 **Chapter 64: Evil Women**

Nurse Carmichael drops paperwork that is waiting to be signed in the doctor's inbox. The man in the white coat is busy looking at a set of test results on the computer monitor on his desk, but he glances up briefly to offer a distracted thank-you and catches an odd look on the face of his longtime employee; one he knows as well as he knows his own sister.

"Is something wrong Muriel?"

"No, not really. We get all kinds in here, don't we?"

"The couple in 622 D?"

"Now, how did you know?" She asks sardonically as she rolls her eyes. "If Dan ever starts waiting on me hand and foot the way he does her; I'm checking the man in for a psychological evaluation. Trust me, my husband loves me but, he's not delusional. He knows the sun does not rise and set solely for me.

A baritone chuckle rises from George Sheehan's broad chest. "Muriel, if Dan ever refers to you as his goddess, I'll put him on a 72-hour psych hold myself."

"And the names… It's like something out of the Greek tragedy."

"I suppose Zelena isn't too bad, but his parents certainly thought highly of themselves; Zeus and Hades! Can you imagine? You don't suppose they have a sister named Hera?"

The nurse squints. "Maybe it's a joke. Maybe they're just… Pet names?"

The doctor shrugs. "Who knows. What's her name? That actress who named her kids Apple and Moses?"

"You're talking about Gwyneth Paltrow… And you have a point. I suppose Hades and Zeus are better than Apple. Moses, it is right up there with them."

"The sister is the one I'd look out for. She's doing the right thing, but I get the sense she's not terribly happy about it. And, I don't know, she's polite. She's refined. She's… "

The word you're looking for, George, is regal."

He jabs his finger in the air as if to say, "That's it." and follows it up with, "Yep, you hit the nail squarely on the head. That's the word alright. Regal, But still, there's something else about her."

"What kind of something else?"

"It's hard to put into words. All I know is … if I were the sister in need, I'd lay off. Regal or not, I don't think I would cross that woman. She's beautiful - actually, they both are - but I get the feeling she's a woman with the power to make a man willingly dig his own grave and lay himself down in it; eager for eternal slumber." He smiles with the air of a man who would like to take up a challenge. "She's evil!"

Muriel Carmichael laughs dismissively. "George, you say the same thing about your wife!"

The physician shrugs and offers his nurse a satisfied smile. "Nedra is evil… and I love her dearly. And that's all the more reason you should believe me. I know an evil woman when I see one!"

Back in her hotel room, Regina smiles at the sight of Robin barefoot, in only his jeans, sitting comfortably on the bed with a book in one hand, a spoon in the other, and his lunch on the room service tray over his lap. She waits until the door swings slowly closed behind her. When she hears the soft metallic click of the lock engaging, she kicks off her heels as she unzips her dress, steps out of it, and places it carefully on the hanger next to Robin's castoff shirt before settling on the bed beside him. Aware of her presence, he smiles and offers her a distracted peck of a kiss. He sets down his spoon and continues reading until he comes to the end of a paragraph. Turning his gaze to her, he slides a scrap of paper with her handwriting on it between the pages of his book to mark his place and then sets it aside.

"You look comfortable."

"Yes, I'm thoroughly enjoying this concept of vacation; not to mention hotel life."

"Hotel life?"

Robin nods as a wide easy grin appears on the lower half of his face. "You want something. You pick up a phone. They bring it to you."

Regina rolls her eyes. "Oh god! Do I need to hire you a manservant?"

"Nah! I don't want one at home. Just on vacation… And if you're going to dress like that, we should go on vacation often." While Robin admires her ruby red half-slip covered in delicate black lace along with its matching corset, she reaches for his book out of curiosity. Taking in the title, she laughs boisterously. "The Pierre Hotel Affair: How Eight Gentlemen Thieves Orchestrated the Largest Jewel Heist in History by Daniel Simone.

"Perfecting your trade?"

"Just reading,"

She opens the book to the place where he left off, a third of the way through and finds the facetious note she left for him earlier in the day while he was in the shower.

 _R_

 _Gone to visit the goddess. Be back as soon as humanly possible. Don't wait for me, order lunch… And a double shot of something for me. I'll probably need it._

 _~R_

The note had been scribbled on the back of a stray receipt she had found crumpled in the pocket of her leather jacket. She tucks it back into the book and after she returns the paperback to its former place on the nightstand beside the bed, she turns to find him holding out a glass tumbler that, when sampled, is revealed hold a very fine bourbon.

Letting the taste linger on her tongue, she swirls the warm amber liquid in the glass gently and sighs softly.

"Good?"

"Very nice. Thank you."

"How is she?"

"Grateful… but still snarky as hell. I took her food. The stuff Hades said she wanted. I also included a smoothie. One of the ingredients in it was spinach, but there was enough other stuff in it that you couldn't taste the spinach. She needs the iron. I told her she needed to feed her baby's blood. She misunderstood and thought I was telling her to feed the child blood. I swear that doctor probably thinks we're all fit for the funny farm. I'm ready to go home."

"You don't want to hang around until they at least release her from the hospital."

Regina shakes her head. "I'm hoping that if we leave before then it will make her nervous. Maybe two months from now when she needs another transfusion, she'll be civil. I don't get it, Robin. There are hundreds of people who have every reason in the world to hate me - both in this world and in the one we came from. She is not one of them. I've never done a damn thing to her. I give the woman my blood… my blood for Christ's sake! The simple act of saying thank you is torture for her!"

"Regina, the closer she gets to realizing she can't hate you for being born, the harder she's going to hang onto the anger. It's all she knows. It's gotten her this far. Being without it…"

"Scares the bloody hell out of her." She mimics him gently without needing to hear the rest of his words.

Robin nods. "She wishes you'd never been born, but right about now she's realizing that if you'd never been born, she'd be saying goodbye to her child. You're forcing her to reevaluate her position. Most people don't like to do that. Most of us have a hard time admitting when we're wrong about something and that raises our defenses. Just like it used to with you and Snow. Just keep doing the right thing. Eventually, that wall is going to crumble.

"When?"

"Probably about three months from now." He wagers a guess as he drops a light kiss on the warm tender flesh of her bare shoulder.

"When that baby is born."

"Umm hmm."

"God, I hope she is. If that baby doesn't survive, Zelena's going to find a way to blame me."

"Don't worry about that now. No sense worrying about things you have no control over. You're doing all you can do. She has no right to ask for more than your best. No one does."

Regina nods, takes another sip of her drink, and then a bite from the half of his sandwich that he offers her. "I still want to go home. And, I want to get married before that baby is born. She can't leave New York before then. It was part of their agreement with Zeus. If she can't leave New York, she can't be in Storybrooke at our wedding. I don't trust her, and I don't want to have to deal with her misplaced resentment on my wedding day – not her, or her dark lord of a husband. If I can find a way to do it, I will run Gold out of town on that day too. You think David and Emma will round up all the town's troublemakers and just lock them up for a few hours? I want at least that one day without magical shenanigans.

"Careful Mi'lady. If you want them to lock up all the troublemakers in Storybrooke… "Robin winks. They'll have to lock you up too. I don't really want to exchange vows with steel bars between us."

"Ha!" She expels derisively. "What makes you think you wouldn't be in there with me. thief?"

Robin chuckles and shakes his head. "Your father likes me but, I don't think he'd be very impressed with a jailhouse wedding for his little girl. He might have something to say about that!"

Regina snickers quietly. "You better believe he would!"

"So, maybe instead of locking people up, we can try offering them incentives… Positive reasons to be on their best behavior; no spells, no portal jumping, no magical mischief… that is, if you think you can pull the whole thing off in three months' time."

"I can sure try. We'd have to seriously scale back whatever it is Snow is dreaming up."

"Just talk to her…calmly. She listens to you more than you think she does."

Regina nods thoughtfully. "Still, we should go rent that car and head for home. I miss Henry and Roland."

"Okay." Robin murmurs his lips against her neck. "Tomorrow morning."

"You want one more day in the city?"

"Don't care about the city." He whispers thickly. "I want one more day in this room… Alone with you."

Sensual laughter rises gently in her throat. "You and corsets… You are entirely too easy to please. You know that, right?"

"You need at least three dozen more."

"I'm not going on another shopping spree. I bought two this trip. You'll have to be content with this one until the next trip.

He stops his advance, his lips a breath away from hers, and raises an eyebrow. "If you bought two, why do I have to be content with just this one? Are you holding out on me, woman?"

"Yes… I am." She moves the room service tray off the bed, placing it on the floor before she straddles him and takes control of the encounter. "Planning a wedding is one thing. If you want to see me in the other one, you will actually have to marry me."

"Oh… I see." He says; his warm hands finding her waist before sliding to her hips and gently pushing her slip up a few scandalous inches. "Are you sure you need three months? How about three days?"

Dark sultry laughter quietly fills the room as her hands find his shoulders and slide lower over the muscled contours of his back. Regina gently rakes her fingernails against warm flesh as her tongue flits softly over his lips; seeking an invitation.

 **Chapter 65: To the Moon and Back**

Robin wakes with a start shortly after 4:00 AM when Regina suddenly tosses off the blankets with a flourish and leaves the bed swiftly with no attempt to avoid disturbing his sleep. It's not like her. Usually, if he is aware of her departure from the bed, it's a soft subtle thing. However, this morning, the bathroom door closes even before he can get his mouth to work well enough to ask if she's alright.

He sits up in bed momentarily concerned until, within the usual amount of time, he hears the faint sounds of the toilet flushing and water running in the sink. A moment later, he lays back down as the bathroom door opens and she returns to the bed at a snail's pace, shuffling her feet sleepily and rubbing her face.

She doesn't realize he's awake until he lifts the blankets, holding them up for her as she slides beneath them once more. Her only response is to snuggle close; seeking the warmth of his body in the cool hotel room.

"You alright?" He mumbles; his own voice thick with sleep.

"Umm-hmm. Sorry, didn't mean to wake you. Weird dream. Knew I was dreaming too. Couldn't shake myself awake, By the time I did…"

He chuckles quietly in the dark. "You were in a hurry."

"Uh huh… Go back to sleep."

"What…y'dreaming about?"

Laying on her left side, Regina settles deeper into the bed, pulling the strong arm thrown loosely over her belly tight around her. Feeling blindly, with her toes beneath the sheets, she finds his calves and tucks one of her own between them. "Roland" She murmurs. "He was crying."

"Why?" Robin queries, a frown evident in his voice.

"Not sure. He wouldn't talk. He just held on to me like he'd never let go."

She senses his movement before she feels it. "What… you doing, Robin?"

"Gonna call…check on him. "He answers, emerging from sleep as she nears it once more."

Skipping a word here or there, she objects with a yawn. "Because I had…unsettling dream? 4:00 AM Robin! Everybody's sleep! He was hurt or sick, they'd call us!" She gropes in the dark until she finds his arm again and pulls him back down beside her. "Lay down! Go back to sleep. Call at breakfast."

He lays back down, pulling her body to his once more. He kisses her temple and murmurs in a whisper; warm against her ear. "You're bossy when you're sleepy!"

Regina pats his arm and mumbles as sleep reclaims her. "I love you, too."

At lunchtime, Roland sits at the bar in Emma's kitchen eating lunch with Henry. As he pulls yucky lettuce out of his sandwich and replaces it with potato chips, he quietly listens to the grownups talking.

Hook shakes his head in wonder. "Regina gave the runt her blood and it worked?"

"Yeah." Emma confirms as Roland's frown goes unnoticed. "Zelena gets to go home tomorrow. Robin's on his way back by car. He wanted to learn how to drive. The baby is already better. Sounds like it still might be a bit dicey though."

The little boy quickly loses interest in his wonderfully crunchy sandwich. Reaching over, he tugs at Henry's sleeve and whispers, "Daddy said that Regina's sister is gonna have a baby, but the baby is sick."

Henry nods. "It's okay for now. Mom gave the baby blood. The baby might be alright. We just have to wait and see."

Roland goes noticeably pale.

"Hey Ro, you feel okay?" Henry asks with a curious frown.

Roland nods listlessly. "Can you call Little John for me. I wanna go home now and wait for my dad."

Hearing this, Emma turns her attention away from Hook. "Sure, little man. We'll call for you, but you don't look like you feel so good. What's th…"

Before she can finish the question, Roland leaves the kitchen at a trot, bolts across the living room and out the front door, slamming it in his wake. Henry, Emma, and Hook all three stare after him, until Henry offers, "Mom, you call. I'll go see if I can get him to talk."

Half an hour later, when Little John departs with a silent child holding his hand, Henry re- enters the house and shrugs in response to his mother's curious look. "I have no idea. The only thing he would say is, 'I wanna go home.' I tried everything I could think of, all I got was, 'I want my daddy.' The kid even turned down ice cream. The longer we were out there, the less he talked. He hasn't said a single word for the last ten minutes. Little John said he would call Robin."

Emma frowns, at a complete loss, and picks up the phone to call her mother. As soon as Snow picks up the receiver on the other end of the line, Emma sighs, "Mom help. I think I screwed up, only, I have no idea how."

Four and a half hours later, Robin and Regina catch sight of his young son sitting, curled up with his knees under his chin, on top of a mammoth old tree stump in the forest surrounding Storybrooke. The wounded, lost, look about his son brings an old hurt to the surface and constricts Robin's chest painfully. On his way to his boy's side, he pauses long enough for a brief exchange with John.

"Little fella's been like that all bloody afternoon." The big man with the contradictory last name gestures toward the small boy as he talks in a loud whisper. "He hasn't let slip a single word. He's breakin' me heart, I tell ya. The last time he was this quiet… well… you know."

Robin nods and says, "Yes, sadly, I do." as Regina places a hand softly on his shoulder, her concern for his son clearly visible in her dark eyes.

As Robin squeezes her hand affectionately, he asks his friend. "Has he mentioned her today? Maybe she's on his mind? Maybe somebody said something to remind him of her?"

Little John shakes his head as he shrugs. "Not a single word. Not all afternoon. Nobody's mentioned his mama. Not that I noticed."

Robin sighs forlornly and lets go of Regina's hand. Squaring his shoulders, he calls out softly as he approaches. "Roland."

The boy turns and the pain in his eyes nearly drives Robin to his knees. But then, as his gaze slides past Robin, something undefinable shifts and Roland is up like a shot streaking passed Robin and hurling himself at Regina with enough force to nearly knock her over.

Both Robin and Little John stare in bewilderment as Regina stumbles with the impact and catches herself as Roland throws his arms around her waist and buries his face in her abdomen.

"Regina, you came back! You came back!" His small voice breaks.

Shocked beyond words, Regina returns his hug. She pats his back as she tosses Robin an utterly perplexed glance.

Just as lost as she is, he shrugs and returns to her, going down on one knee behind his son.

"Roland?" She queries gently.

He lifts his tear stained face, wipes it on his shirt sleeve, and offers her a watery but brilliant smile as he repeats with an obvious note of awe in his voice, "You came back."

Bending slightly, she scoops the boy up in her arms and, when his arms go around her neck, she returns his fierce hug. "Daddy told you we were coming back, right?"

"Yeah, but he didn't tell me the sick baby needed your blood. I heard Emma telling Mr. Hook that you gave your blood to the baby." He scowls darkly at his father. "You shoulda told me, Dad!"

Regina squeezes the boy affectionately." Don't be so upset with Daddy, Roland. Zelena, that's my sister, her baby needed blood, but the reason why is kind of complicated. It's something that's hard for even grownups to understand. He just didn't want to confuse you."

"I'm not confused. You can't do it! You can't give away your blood, Regina!"

She squints. "I already did, sweet boy."

Roland's bottom lip trembles and fresh tears appear.

"Hey. It wasn't that bad. The needle barely even hurt. It was just a little pinch. It was almost like a mosquito bite."

Roland scowls anew, confused by something. "How long will it take?"

Regina raises an eyebrow again. "How long will what take?"

He whispers, afraid, but demanding to know, "How long before you go away like Mama did?"

Comprehension dawns for both Robin and Regina and for a moment, neither can't speak around the lumps in their throats. So, Regina squeezes the boy until he squeaks. As Robin comes to his feet and wraps his arms around both of them, she whispers her reassurance. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not dying, Roland."

"But, Mr. Hook said you gave your sister's baby your blood. You can't live without your blood, Regina. You need it. I know. If you get a bad cut, you have to get stitches, so you won't bleed too much and die."

"Sweetheart, I didn't give the baby all of my blood. I only gave some blood. The doctors have a way to take blood that lets them stop before they take too much."

Roland squints, wrinkling his brow deeply. "They do?"

"Yes, they do, son. I was with her the whole time. I watched. She's okay; I promise. I wouldn't let anyone do anything to hurt, Regina. " Robin pats the boy's back.

"How much is gone?"

Regina smiles. "Only a pint. I have about nine more running through my veins, and one pint is equal to two cups. Like my glass measuring cup at home in my kitchen. Do you remember it?"

Roland nods. "We made apple pie with it. I can see through it, and it has red lines on the sides. But I made a big mess with the flour."

Regina laughs. "You sure did. But that's OK. Flour's messy. Sometimes I make a mess with it too… But anyway, if you take that measuring cup and fill it up to the top red line that's about 2 cups… Which is about how much blood I gave the doctors, and that's enough for the baby to get blood twice before I can go do it again."

With new worry, Roland shakes his head adamantly. "No more!" He clings to her possessively.

"It's okay Roland. The doctors won't let me give any more blood for two whole months. That's how long it takes to make more to replace what I gave away. They won't let anyone give too much."

"You can make more blood if you give some away?"

"Sure, I can. Everyone can. It happens naturally in our bodies, without us even thinking about it.

"Is it magic?"

Regina chuckles quietly. "No, it's not magic. It's called biology. The human body replaces its own blood supply."

"So then how come your sister's baby needs your blood?"

"Because she's sick and she needs a little help until she gets better. After she's born, she'll make her own blood too. She just needs a little help now."

"You're not going away?"

Regina kisses his face. "Wild horses couldn't drag me away from you, Roland. You're stuck with me, sweet boy!"

"You're still gonna marry my dad, right?"

"Try and stop me! He's stuck with me too!"

"Good, cuz I don't want you to go away. I love you, Regina."

She inhales deeply and cradles the boy on her hip, not fully aware of her own tears unto she feels Robin gently brushing them away.

Pulling back slightly, Roland tilts his head to one side, and studies her as if he's seeing her for the first time. "Why are you sad?"

Regina smiles and kisses the boy again. "Sweetheart, I'm not sad. I'm really, really, really happy… because I love you too."

Roland squints yet again. "You cry when you're happy?"

She laughs softly. "Sometimes… Sometimes you can't help it. It just sneaks up on you… like when you love somebody a whole lot."

'This much?" He queries innocently with his hands 6 inches apart.

Regina shakes her head. "A lot more than that. A whole bunch more."

Grinning Roland leans back in her embrace and stretches his arms as wide as he possibly can. "This much?"

Regina shakes her head again. "Not even close!"

"Then how much?"

"All the way to the moon, Roland. All the way to the moon, and back again."

 **Chapter 66: Dinner with Friends**

From his perch atop the kitchen bar, Roland carefully arranges a layer of pasta sheets in a glass baking dish, making sure to completely cover the layer of ingredients below. When he's done, he smiles up at Regina who is standing watch as she waits patiently with the next layer of ingredients at the ready.

"Like that?"

She smiles and declares. "I couldn't do it better myself." She carefully spoons a zesty meat sauce over the pasta and then lets the small boy add a final layer ricotta cheese to the dish before donning mitts and carefully placing it in the preheated oven.

Roland's eyes go wide. "That's it? We're done?"

Regina nods. "With the lasagna preparation. There still dough to be rolled and salad to be tossed. Do you want to help me, or would you rather go outside and play with Big John?"

Roland carefully eases off the counter moving slowly until the toes of his boots find the step stool waiting for him below. Once they do, he takes on his usual human whirlwind persona. "I'm gonna go find Daddy." he announces brightly and runs from the kitchen still Regina's best apron, which she had shortened at the waist via the strings to keep him from tripping, flapping noisily against his shins.

"Okay, thanks for the help." Regina shakes her head in wonder as she stares after the boy.

"How's he doing? Still clinging to you?" Snow asks from her selected work space at the opposite end of the bar.

"Better than he was last week - he went home with Robin last night – didn't beg to spend the night here, but he still checks in on me fairly often. He'll be back in here in less than 20 minutes. Robin and I have discussed it. We've got to get better about leaving him. First, it was our trip to the underworld, then New York. Both times we came home to a frightened, lonely little boy. Watching a parent be pulled into the underworld unexpectedly would've been terrifying for anybody, and it took us longer to get back than I thought it would. That couldn't really be helped, but New York was different. We thought that as long as he understood that we were in no danger and we were coming back, everything would be okay. Robin didn't want to tell him too much about the baby's condition because - well, it is rather complex, plus there's a lot of wait-and-see going on, which can be worrisome. And, he's not yet five. However, neither of us would have guessed last week when he overheard Emma and Hook talking about the transfusion that he would have interpreted the information the way he did. Regardless of what people usually choose to tell a child his age, Robin and I are going to have to adjust such things for him. It's not like we'll never be pulled away again. In this town, odds are, it's going to happen – and probably soon. We can't lie to him and tell that it's not sometimes dangerous. We can't tell him bad things don't happen. He already knows better. Some people make it to middle-age before they lose someone who really matters to them. That's not the case with Roland, and he's much too smart for us to just sweep things under the rug. The trick will be finding the right balance. Telling him enough without telling him too much. I don't like coming home to a frightened, heartbroken, little boy."

Snow sips from a glass of tea as she looks at the items spread out on the countertop before her. "You'll figure it out." She assures confidently.

"Any advice?" Regina queries as she rolls up her shirt sleeves and dusts her hands with flour before she begins working dough into parker-house style rolls and dropping them onto a lightly greased baking sheet.

"Just tell him as much truth as you possibly can without scaring him. Beyond that, I have no idea. She points to her daughter on the bar stool next to her. "I didn't raise this one, and Neal isn't walking yet. The biggest thing I have to worry about with him is whether or not the child safety locks are engaged on the bottom kitchen cabinets."

She pauses and squints, suddenly struck by the irony of the sight before her. "How exactly did this happen?" She gestures between the two of them. "If memory serves me correctly, I invited you and Robin over for dinner. Yet somehow, we are in your kitchen, and you're the one who's cooking."

Regina lifts one shoulder in a shrug as she works dough "Roland wants lasagna - and you wouldn't let me postpone. You brought all that stuff with you and showed up 45 minutes early. So, dinner's not ready and everybody's hungry."

Emma joins the conversation "It's fine Regina. No one's going to starve to death in the next 45 minutes; especially not with these appetizers. She bites into one and munches before finishing her thought. "I never would've thought to put what basically amounts to pizza toppings on little tiny zucchini boats." With her hand in front of her mouth, she talks around a second bite. These are scrumptious!"

Regina shrugs again. "I got the idea from one website or another. I'm trying to get Henry the eat more vegetables."

Getting up from her project, Snow steps around the kitchen island and rolls up her own sleeves. "I didn't show up early to annoy you, or to be rude. I showed up early to help. Especially since it was me who invited you in the first place. I thought, while we worked on dinner, we could talk about that stuff." She nods her head toward the place where she'd been sitting. I didn't know everyone else was going to come with me. I figured they'd show up later, but Emma wanted to come along, and the guys just sort of followed.

"Besides, they aren't worried about us, or dinner," Emma adds. "They're too busy yelling at the baseball game on the TV."

"Aside from wedding plans, we also need to discuss throwing a housewarming party." Snow declares softly in full anticipation of the curious scowl Regina throws her.

"You want to throw a housewarming party too? What? Are you bored at home taking care of Neal? You're not teaching currently - so, you thought you'd open up a party planning business on the side."

Snow rolls her eyes and explains with exaggerated patience. You and Robin have a new house. It's customary for friends and family to throw a housewarming party."

"I know that Snow, but first; it's Robin who has a new house. I don't live there – yet. And second, you are aware that most of Robin's family consists of men who live in the woods; in tents?" She laughs derisively. "Those guys aren't interested in throwing, or even attending, a housewarming party. They're not going to feel obligated to bring gift-wrapped ficus plants, martini glasses, and blenders into a new home. They just want to get together, practice archery, and drink beer."

"So, we'll serve burgers and hot dogs."

Emma nods eagerly. "Now that the housewarming party I would attend."

Done with the rolls, Regina steps to the sink. While washing her hands, she calls out, "Robin?"

It takes him a few seconds, but as she's drying her hands on a dish towel, he steps into the kitchen; with Roland in his arms and an inquiring look on his face. "You called Mi'lady."

"You want Snow to throw you a housewarming party?"

Robin squints and shrugs. "What for? Already got what I need. The guys would just come over and drink too much. They can do that in the woods."

From the living room, Hook can be heard protesting in response to something on the television. "Bloody hell mate! You're supposed to catch the ball, not run away from it!"

Robin glances over his shoulder before returning his attention to Regina.

She waves him away with a smile. "Go watch the game." When the door closes behind him, she gestures toward it as she says to the woman in the room, "See, did I tell you?"

Snow throws up her hands in defeat after moving the rolls into the oven. "Okay, fine, no housewarming party. But, this might go a little easier, or at the very least inspiration might strike, if I had some idea what I should be working toward." She points to her project.

Regina glances over at the menagerie of odds and ends piled up on her kitchen counter in front of Emma as she begins slicing vegetables for the salad. "What is all this stuff anyway?"

"I'm trying to come up with ideas for a tasteful centerpiece for the tables at your reception. Have you picked a theme? You never showed me those pictures of your dress." Snow squint as something catches her attention. "Why are you slicing cucumbers? You don't like cucumbers."

"Robin likes them. Why do I need a theme? Isn't the fact that it's a wedding theme enough?" She stops slicing cucumbers long enough to retrieve her tablet from the kitchen table. She opens her photo app and hands the device over without comment.

"People like theme weddings. They're fun, and it makes them memorable."

Regina rolls her eyes. "Love makes weddings memorable. Without that, you can throw all the money and hard planning work you want at them. People will still forget, and that includes the bride and groom."

Snow glances at her daughter. "A little help here."

"Don't look at me. I hate theme weddings. Weddings are naturally full of frill and froof without attaching themes to them."

Snow sighs in mild exasperation. "If you two want to get married in October… I know you're not going to do a Halloween wedding, but you could do a masquerade ball type thing."

Regina questions drolly, "You want us to wear masks at our wedding? Who's Robin supposed to come dressed as; Cyrano De Bergerac?"

Snow giggles. "You'd make a fabulous Roxanne."

Regina sighs. "No thank you. I'm quite content dressing as myself and marrying Robin of Locksl.."

She's cut off by Snow's quiet exclamation. "Ohh, Regina! It's… It's perfect."

"The dress?" Emma queries; leaning over her mother's shoulder as Snow steps back to her seat. "I wanna see."

"You like it?" Regina inquires eagerly; unable to keep at least a small amount of hope from seeping into her voice.

Snow nods emphatically. It's gorgeous - and for you - it's perfect. You'll be stunning; breathtaking. Robin won't know what hit him!"

Emma looks up from the tablet. The look on her face is an odd mix of both, mild shock, and acceptance. "I don't know why I'm surprised. I shouldn't be. You'll be…"

"Radiant." Snow fills in the blank for her daughter.

"It took me a full day to find it. I had to walk half the city. Dressing the men isn't going to be any easier. I've tried asking them about their preferences. Not one of them is helpful. All they have to say is 'whatever makes you happy." Regina groans.

Before the conversation can go further, Roland returns. "Regina when's my 'sagna gonna be ready to eat. I'm starvin' Marvin!" As Regina chuckles, Roland moves his step stool so that he can climb up and stand next to her at the counter.

She runs her fingers affectionately through his unruly waves and curls, "Did Henry teach you to say that?"

Roland shrugs and nods. "Guess so."

"Well Marvin, your lasagna won't be ready for at least half an hour. "Here have one of these before Miss Emma eats them all."

Roland accepts a zucchini wedge and bites into the tender veggie with curiosity. He chews thoughtfully, and then smiles brightly. "it's pizza on a tiny cucumber!"

"Close. That's zucchini, not cucumber, but they look a lot alike."

Roland nods and looks at the collection of stuff on the counter. "What's all this for? Looks like Christmas stuff? It's not time for Christmas… Is it?' He looks up at Regina with wide eager eyes.

"Not yet, sweet boy. Snow is trying to come up with an idea for a nice decoration for the tables at the wedding reception." Regina clears clutter from the counter, making a workspace for herself and starts idly arranging items as she talks. "The first thing we can do is 86 the wedding planner's binder." She moves it to the top of the refrigerator.

"Hey, don't dismiss that right away." Snow objects. "There are some good ideas in there."

Regina tries not to sound too terribly forceful when she shakes her head and says, "Every idea in there is in there because it's already been done. I don't want a wedding that 618 other people have already had. I want my wedding – and that means no masquerade ball theme. As far as colors go; we've got black white, silver, and we need one other color… But I can't get Daddy, Henry, or Robin to choose one in."

"I like red." Roland offers easily."

Regina kisses the top of his head enthusiastically. "Then red it shall be! Why can't the rest of them do that!" Regina gestures toward the living room; shaking her head. "I like red." She repeats Roland's simple statement. "How hard is that?"

Snow smiles. "Black, white, silver, and red… and no theme?"

"What's a theme?" Roland wants to know.

For a moment, Snow stalls; trying to think of a way to explain the concept to the little boy.

It's a way to make the wedding unique. You choose something special or meaningful to the two people who are getting married."

Roland glances at Regina and wrinkles his nose as he thinks this bit of information through. He concentrates quietly for a few long seconds before he smiles broadly and shrugs. "That's easy – apples and arrows."

Stunned by how easily it comes to the boy, Regina smiles brilliantly and hugs him close. "Thank you, Roland!"

He smiles. "You're welcome! What for? Is it a good idea?"

"It's a wonderful idea. One I can live with, and Snow likes it too." Regina says in response to the smile on the younger woman's face. She sets aside certain items from the pile of odds and ends that she knows she will not need, moving them out of the way. She chooses a shallow crystal bowl-shaped vase and fills it quickly with red silk roses before she steps quickly from the room. Moments later she returns with four of Robin's arrows. She lays them down on the counter, crisscrossing at the ends around the bowl full of roses, and loosely weaves dark green spruce garland through the arrows. To finish it off, she selects a few small apples from the basket in the center of her kitchen table and tucks them into the mesh as well. She steps back, eyeing her own work critically." Not bad. With live garland and roses, they'll be fragrant, beautiful, tasteful, and not too tall. We won't have to worry about not being able to see the person sitting on the opposite side of the table. I hate gaudy obstructive centerpieces. We can even skip the roses in some of the vases. On alternating tables, we can have roses and floating candles." She pauses to look at the faces around the room. "What next?"

"Pick a date!" Snow and Emma answer in harmony.

 **Chapter 67: Nobility**

With her back to the office door, Regina sighs in exasperation. She cradles her phone between her chin and her shoulder and places her hands on her hips as she gazes out the window, scowling. "Yes, I know you just repaired it recently. It needs repairing again… I know. I understand. I just need an estimate. No, I didn't. My sister broke if this time… Why? Because she thoroughly enjoys being one of the many banes of my existence! Can you fix the thing or not? Okay thanks, Marco. I will see you tomorrow at four."

She turns back to her desk unaware of the visitor in the room and continues to scowl at the paperwork before her as he moves to stand behind her with cat-like agility. Wishing only to soften the scowl on her face, he steps close and wraps his arms around her from behind – or at least he tries to. The next thing he knows he's doubled over and stumbling backward behind the impact of a hard elbow to the gut. She turns and blindly grabs for him, using his own momentum against him as he stumbles, she shoves him halfway across the room before he lands unceremoniously on his ass on the polished marble floor. Before he can take in enough breath to speak his gaze locks onto the pulsating fireball that emerges instantly in the palm of her hand.

"Regina, wait!" He yells and rolls; praying he can move faster than her.

Catching on, realizing her mistake, she roars in abject fright, "Stop!"

The fireball does stop; a mere two inches from his face.

She rushes to him and goes down on her knees. As she waves a hand and her flaming weapon of defense vanishes from sight, she wraps one arm around him, pulling him close and simultaneously uses her free hand to punch him in the shoulder. "Robin! Are you nuts! I could've killed you! Do not sneak up on me!" She continues to pummel him in both agitation and relief. A few long seconds expire before her voice loses its heat. "Sweetheart, are you alright?"

The groan of pain rising in his throat is smothered by laughter. "Well, I will be – if you stop beating on me."

Regina collapses back onto her heels and covers her mouth in dread. "I'm sorry, Robin. I didn't know it was you. I didn't know you were here…" She babbles "I didn't hear you come in. I didn't know anyone was here. "

"Yeah, I got that."

When he continues to chuckle, she slugs him again. "It's not funny; damn it! We're supposed to be getting married, and I almost fricasseed your face!"

He lifts one shoulder in a shrug as he pulls her close. "Almost doesn't count. Besides, it's not your fault. It's mine. Your attention was elsewhere. I was trying to surprise you. I just didn't think it would be that much of a surprise."

"Can you get up?"

He smiles and raises an eyebrow. "Only if you promise not to knock me down again."

She rises to her feet and reaches down, offering him a hand. "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the day. Shouldn't you be at work?"

Rubbing his tender, bruised, abdomen he comes to his feet and studies her briefly before answering, "It is the middle of the day. It's time for that middle of the day meal… You know, the one called lunch? I thought I'd come see my girl. Maybe take her to get a sandwich."

Regina frowns and shakes her head regrettably. "I really shouldn't. Too much to do."

"You have to eat, Regina. And, it seems to me as though you could use a little break. You are… wound a little tight, mi'lady."

"I'm okay; I've just been really busy today. Henry needed new jeans and supplies for some school project. So, I took care of that this morning. Then, Roland had his fitting. I've got to get the stupid clock fixed again. It hasn't worked right since Hades made his less than grand appearance a few months ago. The next person who breaks it is gonna spend a month in jail and pay to have it repaired! I'm tired of getting that thing fixed. And, I'm supposed to go look at wedding cake samples today too. A final decision needs to be made."

"Let's go get a bite to eat. You can't just eat cake samples for a lunch. You'll be on a sugar high… at least into you crash, and then you'll be grumpy."

She scowls, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "You can stop. You don't have to take care of me. Especially not after I nearly roasted your face."

"I know, I don't have to. I want to. Besides, I'm just trying to make things easier. If all this is going to stress you out, we'll just scrap the whole thing, run away somewhere, and elope."

Robin, that's not funny! It would've been funny two months ago. Now there's a dress, and tuxes and cake, and flowers, and food, and an orchestra, and…"

He gently holds a finger to her lips. "And – you're driving yourself mad, my love."

"Because you go and say something like that! At this point, it would take more work to cancel it all than to get married!" She laughs and slumps against him; leaning into his embrace. Besides, if we don't go through with it, the disappointment will kill Snow!" She rolls her eyes in response to the irony in her own statement. "Robin, I don't even know how many different times I tried to kill her – and she's planning our wedding!"

"She loves you."

"She's insane."

He shakes his head as he offers her his hand and repeats "She loves you."

He guides her out of the building with an arm around her waist, and he chuckles wryly when she lifts her face toward the sky and asks in amazement, "it was gray and drizzly this morning. When did the sun come out?"

"About three hours ago, Madame Mayor. You should come up for air more often."

At Granny's, they choose an outdoor table and sit; munching on the simple fare of soup and sandwiches. After a few bites of nourishment, Regina looks around suddenly aware that someone is missing. "Where's Roland?"

"Napping in Little John's tent. I think shopping with you this morning wore him out."

"Really, that kid of yours is pretty awesome. He was so sweet about it. He didn't complain. Not once."

"That's probably because we talked about it. Getting dressed up is not his favorite thing to do. When he realized that he would have to get dressed up, he was rather displeased."

"Oh? He was nothing but cooperative."

"I told him that I knew he didn't think it was going to be any fun, but that it would make you awfully happy if he did it. After that, he was all for it."

"He's wonderful."

"He thinks you're rather wonderful too." Robin winks. "Runs in the family I guess."

"Speaking of family – do you have any? Other than those guys who live in tents out there in the woods."

"Not here." Robin shrugs. "Maybe not anywhere, now."

"What exactly does that little addendum mean?"

"I left someone back in Sherwood. But, that was before the curse. Those of us who didn't make the original trip over got scattered. I have no way of knowing if she's still in Sherwood – or if she's even still alive, for that matter." His eyes shine with the warm light of memory as he admits with a far-away note in his voice, "The last time I saw her, she was getting on in years."

"Robin, who are you talking about?"

He blinks, almost as if he has momentarily forgotten her presence and then he lifts one shoulder in a shrug and takes a sip of his drink before he says quietly, "The woman who raised me."

Instantly picking up on the atypical turn of phrase, Regina raises an eyebrow. "The woman who raised you? Meaning? What? She wasn't your mother?"

Robin chuckles silently and nods. "Yes, she was – in every way but one."

Regina reaches for and squeezes, his hand affectionately. "That way doesn't count, at least not if you can't get the other ways right."

Robin sighs audibly. "Tell me about it. There is a woman biologically responsible for my existence. For which, I'm grateful, but that's all she gave me… Well, wait - that's not true. She provided for me; saw to it I was taken care of, but Trix would've taken care of me regardless. "

"Trix?"

"Beatrice; Beatrice Atherton. Before she took me in she was Cecelia Eldebury's lady in waiting."

Regina's eyes go wide. "Cecilia Eldebury; Marchioness of Elyria; is your birth mother?"

Robin deliberately takes the time to wipe his mouth on a paper napkin before half-heartedly dodging the question. "I didn't say that."

"Robin, sweetheart, you don't have to say it." Regina gives him a soft smile. "I'm a queen. I know how much goes on inside the castle that no one outside the castle is aware of. If that is what you're not saying, trust me, you were not the first infant – nor the last – to find himself in the care of some handmaiden, relieved of her duty, and sent packing with significantly more than she arrived with."

Robin scowls with a sudden heated flash of anger. "If that was intended to make me feel better about the situation; your aim needs work, Regina. You didn't even hit the target!"

Mildly startled by the sudden and unexpected edge in his voice, Regina leans back in her chair; her eyes going wide." That was not my intent." She answers quietly. "I wasn't trying to make you feel better. I chose my words poorly, and for that, I do sincerely apologize. What I was trying to convey… is that there is nothing you can't say to me. There's nothing you can say that will shock me – not about palace life and probably not about much of anything else either."

"It bloody well ought to shock you! What is it with royals abandoning babies? Why is saving face in front of a kingdom more important than a human life?"

Regina bites back the defensive urge to raise her voice to him simply because he's snapping at her. With forced calm, she answers. "It's no more important. Not to me - and I'm pretty sure you know that. I've done things I'll never be able to atone for Robin. That's not one of them."

He shifts uncomfortably in his chair and has the good grace to look mildly embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm upset. My childhood was good. She did the right thing, giving me to Trix. I didn't spend one moment of my youth feeling ashamed of myself. I suppose she cared about me. She didn't just leave me to fate. But she couldn't imagine life any other way than the way it was for her. She wasn't going to risk losing, or even tarnishing, the lifestyle to which she was accustomed. Had she kept me, had she told the truth about me, she probably would've resented me."

Regina sighs and reaches for his hand. "It's her loss, Robin; not yours. But, you're upset because it hurts. Even if you do look back on your childhood with fond memories, knowing someone would rather deny your existence than risk changing theirs…"

He laughs derisively at himself. "I thought I'd moved past this. I haven't thought about her in years."

"That's probably best. I didn't know the Eldebury's well. I only knew them for political reasons. But, if she had you in secret and then sent you away…" Regina sighs. "It's not worth losing sleep over. She clearly doesn't deserve you."

"I don't remember ever not knowing that Trix didn't give birth to me. She never lied to me about that. She never lied to me about anything. However, I didn't know who my birth mother was until I was 19. At that point, I may have decided to prove you right. Maybe I unconsciously wanted to prove to her that she wasn't worthy. That's when I ran off and joined the merry men."

"Ahh, well now it makes sense. You have a royal parent by blood. One whose husband was known for being rather self-indulgent - greedy even – at the expense of own his people. His harsh taxes and tariffs hit the poor and the modest the hardest. Then you run off to Sherwood Forest and find more of the same people under the heel of Nottingham's boot."

Robin nods.

"Tired of watching from the sidelines? Time to act?"

He nods again "Tired of watching good people, who are grateful for what little they have, break their backs to support and enrich the lives of royalty who appreciate nothing they have. The marchioness couldn't even be bothered with publicly acknowledging me, and she was said to be a good woman."

He chuckles wryly; shaking his head. "By contrast, I heard repeatedly that you were the worst sort of woman imaginable. Yet somehow, you have challenged every preconceived notion I've ever had about royalty, Regina. Some would call you irredeemable. Many have; but, as dark as you were, you still thought my son's welfare was worth more than your own life. I'm lucky no one asked the woman who gave birth to me to put her life on the line for me. I wouldn't be here if they had. All she had to risk was social standing and material comfort. All she had to do was tell the truth - and she couldn't do it."

"I'm sorry, Robin."

"Don't be. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I grew up with a mother who loved me, and without a self-centered biological parent who did teach me one thing. She taught me that nobility is defined by a person's actions; not by their blood. Nobility is not a birthright."

Regina falls silent for a moment, sipping from a bottle of water. "What about your father?"

Robin shrugs. "It's safe to assume the Marquis of Elyria was not the man in question. Beyond that, I have no idea. I asked, but Trix couldn't offer any enlightenment on the subject. She said I was just a mutt."

When Regina doesn't know whether to laugh or scowl, he adds, "She said it was a great deal of affection. She had a soft spot for mongrels. Coming from her, it wasn't an insult. I'm not the only stray she took in. I'm just the one who stayed the longest."

"I wish I knew how to find her. I wish she could be here for the wedding."

"So, do I. She'd get a kick out of you and me. I can just hear her. 'You spend years robbing royals, and then you go in fall for her? Serves you right, lad!'

Regina laughs. Getting up from the table, she tosses takeout containers into the nearest trash bin before she reaches for his hand. "Come on, thief. Let's go sample some wedding cake."

 **Chapter 68: Ready or Not …**

Moments after the first rays of sunlight appear in the eastern sky, Regina stirs lazily. She takes her time rising from the depths of sleep, but once her eyes are open, she is quick to sit up and stretch before tossing aside the blankets and drawing her knees up to her chest. A soft radiant smile forms on her lips. Lost in her own private reverie, she folds her arms on top of her knees and, just for one moment, she allows her thoughts to wander where they will.

 _Here we go. Ready or not!_

When she turns to look at the clock on the bedside table farthest away from her, she's pleasantly surprised by an unexpected sight. Robin did not sleep here last night, but the folded piece of stationary tucked carefully beneath a long stem red rose on the pillow next to hers could be from no one else.

She picks up the rose, mindful of its tender petals, and inhales its sweet fragrance before she unfolds the note. She quickly scans the two lines written in his familiar hand and laughter bubbles out of her.

 _Ready or not, Mi'lady. Here we go. ~ Robin_

 _P.S. Guess what!_

Abandoning the bed, she glides across the room on bare feet and places the rose in a small vase waiting with two others, already on display. She inhales their sweet scent one more time before tucking the side of the note carefully between the vanity framing and the mirror. Then she retrieves her robe from the foot of the bed and steps into the master bath to prepare for this day.

Almost 3 hours later, there's a soft knock at the bedroom door. Her father opens the door no more than 2 inches, and peers in discreetly before he enters to find her clad in an elegant floor-length silk robe the color of lilacs with her hair up in curlers, and while he's quite certain she heard him come in, she remains, standing at the window, momentarily lost in her thoughts.

Several long seconds tick by before she speaks, and when she does, she whispers so softly that he almost doesn't hear her. "Good morning, Daddy."

"Same to you dear. How are you today?"

He smiles happily when her only response is a quiet but pleasant sigh.

Before turning to step away from the window, she gently touches a pane of glass with expertly manicured fingertips. Although she doesn't exactly frown, a look of mild concern flutters across her face without ever settling there. "It's cool out there this morning."

"It'll be fine, sweetheart." He says with quiet confidence. "It's going to warm up later. You want coffee this morning?"

Regina thinks it over judiciously before she nods. "Coffee, croissant, and some fruit; whatever is in the kitchen – but only one cup of coffee. No more than that."

"Nervous?"

"About a great many other things; yes. But not about Robin; no."

"What other things?"

She chooses her answer with deliberation before voicing it. "I said there were a great many, but that's not exactly true. Every anxious thought in my head is centered around one person; and that one person is me. What if I screw this up?"

Henry chuckles softly. "Oh, you're going to screw it up plenty…"

"Daddy!" Regina grimaces, mildly wounded."

He holds out a hand; silently asking for hers, and when she offers it, he gives it a gentle squeeze. "Let me finish. You're going to screw it up, and so is he - and you're going to be okay. When you screw it up, you'll just fix it."?

"What makes you so sure? Some screw-ups can't be fixed, Daddy."

"You two have faced the underworld together. You've survived your sister and the mess she tried to make of your relationship, and you've done it admirably. You've faced how many magical beings? How many of them were intent on doing either one or both of you harm?"

"This is different, Daddy. This is marriage. Something that requires an entirely different kind of strategy."

"What is it exactly that you're worried about?"

"For starters? I'm used to being on my own. For years, it was just me. Then it was just me and Henry, but he was a child. It was still up to me to make all the decisions. Robin likes to help with that sort of thing. He gets annoyed if I try to isolate myself when things aren't going so well. I'm not good at sharing."

Her father smiles patiently. "No, you're not, but I'm confident you'll figure it out. You didn't use to be so good at doing the right thing, and you seem to be making your way through that alright."

Regina nods half-heartedly. "What about Roland?"

"What about him?"

"History has proven I'm not so good at the role of the stepmother."

"Just don't feed the boy any poison apples." He offers lightly.

"Daddy. It's not something to joke about. Will you be serious, please?"

"I know it's not funny, sweetheart; but you're being too hard on yourself. Back then, you were forced into a loveless marriage before you were given proper time to grieve the love you had lost. Not to mention the fact that you were barely more than a girl, and he was Thirty-five years you're senior. There's not usually a lot of common ground with an age gap like that. What you did wasn't right, Regina but you were wounded and lost. You're not that girl anymore. You don't have to be afraid of her. She's all grown up now."

"Is she? I wasn't any better at being a wife than a stepmother… Maybe worse. Snow is still alive. I can't say the same for her father. He thought me cold. At first, he was patient - even understanding - but all his patience and understanding was short-lived. When he realized that I wasn't even remotely interested in being the wife and mother he wanted me to be, it quickly turned to anger, and then resentment, and then eventually war – a cold war. After a while, I just got tired of living in apathy. The only thing worse than being lonely…"

"Is being lonely when someone is within arm's reach."

She offers him a sad smile. "Of course, you would understand that. I wish you didn't, Daddy."

"I wish the same for you, and you needn't hurt so deeply for me anymore. I'm not lonely now and I won't be. Death won't be like it was before. Right now, there's no place else I want to be, but when the time comes, I know Maggie will be there. Nothing about that thought makes me feel lonely, Regina. And, don't go thinking I haven't noticed, my girl, that there is absolutely nothing cold between you and Robin – not even when you're irritating one another."

Regina scoffs derisively and then laughs at herself. "Leopold and I could sit calmly within arm's length of each other and find ourselves in need of a roaring fire on a warm spring day to take the icy chill out of the air. Robin can be clear across town, mad at me, and even then, he doesn't make me feel lonely." She fidgets with the sash of her robe momentarily before becoming aware of her own nervous behavior. "Daddy, I just hope I never do anything to make him regret this day. I didn't much care when Leopold looked at me with apathy in his eyes. If Robin ever looks at me that way…"

"Hey." He wraps her in a warm hug. "No…not going to happen."

"You don't know that, Daddy. You can't." She leans into him momentarily; needing the strength he offers.

"I can, and I do. That young man is over the moon. Completely besotted, and he isn't the only one. His happiness means too much to you. You won't allow yourself to backslide far enough to hurt him that deeply."

Regina shakes her head adamantly. "No… I won't."

"So, then, what have you got to worry about?" Her father raises an eyebrow.

"Thanks, Daddy."

"Anytime and always, my girl." He squeezes her shoulders affectionately before releasing her. "Snow and Emma will be here any moment to help you finish getting ready. I'm going to get you some breakfast and to check on my grandson."

"Is he up already?"

"it's after eight. He's been up and about for almost an hour and a half."

"It's after eight?" She queries in mild alarm. "I've got to get moving. I've got to fix my face." She smiles and shoos her father toward the door as it opens and Snow breezes in full of glowing vitality with Emma not far behind.

"Fix your face?" She inquires cheerfully. "What face? This face. You don't need to do anything to it. You can show up without a trace of makeup on, and you'll still be the most beautiful woman in town. Robin won't even see the rest of us."

Regina rolls her eyes but offers the barest hint of a smile "Dial back the sunshine just a little bit. I haven't had coffee yet."

"In that case..." Snow calls out the door. "Henry, bring her a straw to go with that coffee, please sir."

Henry calls back, "Will do." without so much as questioning why.

Snow eyes her longtime nemesis turned friend curiously.

"What?" Regina demands.

"I was a bundle of raw nerves on my wedding day." She laughs wryly. "Thanks, in no small part, to the fear of you showing up and wrecking things!"

"Well, I tried." Regina growls in mock exasperation. Gave it my best shot. You two are just stubborn as hell. No matter what I did you both refused to remain apart and heartbroken."

Snow laughs. "I'm trying to tell you that you look better than I felt."

"I don't think that I feel any better than you felt." Regina sits down at the vanity and looks at her own reflection in the mirror. "But what the hell! I'm gonna do it anyway."

"That's the spirit! How long have these curlers been in your hair? Can we take them out, or should we leave them in for a while yet?"

 **Chapter 69: The Best Man and the Bride**

Henry knocks politely and pokes his head in the door. "Dear, the photographer is here. He wants to…"

Standing in the middle of her bedroom with Snow kneeling at her feet and Emma standing directly behind her - both of them fussing over her dress; trying to get the skirt to drape just right - Regina glances at the clock on one of the bedside tables. "He probably wants to get a few shots before the wedding. Tell him to come on up, but he'll have to hurry. We'll be cutting it close."

When the door doesn't immediately close Regina glances his way and raises an eyebrow. "Daddy what's wrong?"

She gazes down at her dress looking for the source of whatever has rendered the man speechless.

"Daddy?" She questions again, a thread of worry weaving its way through her voice when he remains silent a beat too long.

He shakes his head and forces words out around the lump rising in his throat. "Nothing is wrong my girl. You're spellbinding."

A quick snort of derisive laughter rises and dies in her throat. "Geez, Daddy! Don't scare me like that! I thought something was wrong! It's not as if you've never seen me all done up before. It's not even like this is the first time you've seen me in a wedding gown."

"Yes, but last time you didn't look quite so…"

"Happy?" Snow offers smiling up from her place at Regina's feet.

Misunderstanding the context of the conversation Hap Coleman appears in the doorway behind Henry with his trademark gregarious smile, his cameraman's bag slung over his shoulder, a tripod in one hand, a camera in the other, and a second one on a strap around his neck. "I'm here Snow; I'm here. I apologize for being a bit behind schedule, Madame Mayor. Getting photos of the groom and all the groom's men proved to take longer than I thought it would. They're quite the bunch of mischief-makers." He eases passed the father of the bride who steps aside long enough to allow him passage through the door.

Snow chuckles softly. "I wasn't talking to you Happy. I was talking about the bride."

"Ah yes, but of course you were. And quite the stunning bride, if the mayor doesn't mind my saying so."

"Not at all. Come on in Hap. Setup wherever you like. We'll have to be quick. Perhaps I should have warned you that they were going to take a while… Robin doesn't call them merry men for nothing."

"So, I've learned. When I left them, Robin was holding his own, but I think he's about ready to toss Will Scarlett in the ocean. You ladies go on about your business. Just pretend I'm not here."

Why is he out of sorts with Will? He's one of the groomsmen?"

"Cuz Uncle Will keeps playing jokes on Daddy. He dropped daddy's cuff links in the punch bowl on purpose." A small familiar voice calls out to her from the hallway behind Henry."

"Roland?"

"Yeah, it's me." The boy answers brightly.

Regina smiles, gazing curiously at the portion of his slender shoulder that is visible from his hiding place behind her father's legs."

She chuckles softly. "Why are you hiding?"

"Cuz, I don't know if I'm allowed. I don't wanna make no bad luck."

"Roland, what are you talking about?"

"Daddy's not allowed. He told me so. He says it's bad luck."

"Oh Roland! Come on in, sweet boy. It's okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course, I am. Come in here, where I can see you."

Roland steps slowly around Henry and enters the room cautiously before he stops in his tentative tracks and offers a bright earnest smile. He stares in innocent rapture as he whispers, "Regina, you look… sooo pretty."

She opens her arms to him and he trots over with a ready hug.

"Thank you, Roland. You look very handsome, yourself. Now, how did you get here? Is your dad downstairs?"

Roland shakes his head. "Uh-uh. Ms. Belle brought me here."

"She did? Why? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. I just needed to come see you."

"Oh okay, how come? It's still okay if your dad and I get married; right? Did you change your mind?"

"Gosh no! You have to marry Daddy, cuz, if you don't, he'll be really, really sad."

"Don't you worry, Roland. As long as it's okay with you, it's going to happen!"

"Okay, good!"

"So, what's so important that the best man had to leave the groom?"

Roland wrinkles his nose and shuffles his feet uncomfortably before he reaches into his jacket pocket and shyly removes his bright red bow tie. "I need help! I don't know how to tie this stupid thing! It won't stay on! Well, it did once but Little John said I get it wrong." Roland scowls, feeling slightly grumpy. "But he don't know how to tie his either. Ms. Fanny did it for him."

"Is that all!" Well, come over here with me. That's easy to fix!"

With the photographer snapping away behind his camera, she leads Roland over by the hand and then lifts him up to stand in the center of her small vanity bench. Stepping up close behind him, she lifts his collar and then settles the tie into place before forming a proper bow while he watches in the mirror. Seconds later, when she repositions his collar and smooths his jacket over his shoulders, he looks up at her in awe.

"Is that all? You did that easy."

"My mother taught me how a long time ago." She offers the boy a soft warm smile courtesy of the mirror.

"Mama's gone now?" He answers with a flicker of sadness. "Maybe it would be okay for you to teach me."

"Roland." She stoops slightly, resting her chin on the boy's shoulder as she hugs him from behind. "I'd be honored… but can we work on it later? We have to take a few pictures, and then we have to get going. If we're late, it will make your daddy nervous."

Roland giggles as he hops down from the seat of the vanity stool. "Daddy's already nervous… Only, don't tell him I told you. He wants you to think he's cool."

Laughter fills the room as Regina assures the boy. "Roland, your dad is cool… And it will be our secret."

Ten minutes later, after being photographed, and re-photographed in various different groups and poses, Regina and her entire entourage exit the house and march down the front walk toward the two waiting black limousines at the curb.

 **Chapter 70: Right on Time**

When the engine of the limousine she's riding in begins to sputter unexpectedly, Regina sits up a little straighter in the backseat and calls out to the driver. "What's going on? What happening?"

Grimacing, David shrugs as he glances into the rearview mirror. "Give me just a second." He pulls the malfunctioning vehicle onto the shoulder of the road two seconds before an alarming rattling noise is heard and the engine gives up and dies. Leaving the driver's side door open, David steps out of the vehicle, walks around and opens the hood. Gray smoke billows out and David fans the air around himself as he mutters quietly.

Regina doesn't know whether to growl in anger or laugh at the predictability of it all. She knew this day wasn't going to go off without some kind of glitch. She offers her father a tense smile

"Don't worry, dear. The cars were serviced either yesterday or the day before. I forget which. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's something minor."

She rolls her eyes. "Nice try Daddy. I'm no mechanic, but that didn't find minor." She looks out the window getting a feel for precisely where they are as the second limousine – the one carrying Emma, Snow, and Henry- pulls to a stop several feet behind them. "We're 3 miles out." Leaning forward in her seat, she pats Roland's knee in quiet reassurance as she helps herself to her father's pocket watch. She opens it for a flicker in time before snapping the clasp shut again and handing it back to him. "There's not enough time to walk. We'll be late."

"Give David a chance to work out whatever is wrong."

She waits quietly but impatiently for the next two minutes, during which, Hook leaves the driver's seat of the second limo and joins David. After the two of them scratch their heads in confusion for another 30 seconds, David approaches the window and waits for Regina to lower it. "I'm really sorry about this, but I have no idea what's wrong with this thing."

Regina glowers darkly and allows herself one less than satisfying groan before she squares her shoulders and breathes deeply in acceptance. Smiling tersely for the benefit of her fellow passengers, she announces, "Everybody out!"

She exits the vehicle cautiously; mindful of her skirt. Already knowing what has to be done, she mutters to herself, "Thank God I chose a dress without a train."

"What was that, dear?"

"Never mind Daddy. It's not important. Get in the other car." She says as Emma steps out of the vehicle in question.

"We can take you, or we can take your dad and Roland." Emma offers, anticipating Regina's next words before she speaks from. "With your dress, there's not going to be room for all three… Or, the two of us can magically transport people in groups. We can pop back for a second pick up."

Regina shakes her head adamantly and, in a tone that clearly says don't question me, she declares, "Daddy and Roland are going with - you in the car. No magic! I will meet you there. Tell Robin, I will be there."

Henry eyes his daughter with concern.

"Don't worry Daddy. It'll be fine. I'll be there. On time… If I leave now. She smiled down and Roland. "You go with them. I'll be there. I promise." She turns, chooses the appropriate direction, and leaves them staring after her.

With nothing else to do, Henry and his young charge start in the direction of the other vehicle. Emma holds the door open for them, and Roland starts to climb in then changes his mind and reverses direction.

"Hey kid." Emma smiles. "Not to rush you, but we kinda need to hurry."

"I know." Roland replies and addresses his next comment to Henry. "You go, Mr. Henry. I'm going with Regina."

As the boy turns and trots away, Henry sputters in surprise. "Roland, my boy, come back."

Torn between doing as he's told and what he knows is right, Roland wrinkles his nose and shrugs apologetically. "I have to go. My dad would." He sprints after Regina and when he catches up with her, she stops, listens to the boy for a moment and then, smiling, she takes him by the hand and turns to wave goodbye to the others one last time before they round a corner of Main Street and are out of sight.

Feeling somewhat at a loss, the remaining members of the bridal party squeeze themselves into one vehicle and continue on their way. Moments later the limo is parked in its designated space in front of the refurbished carriage house that shares property with the old apple barn. They all file out, straightening their attire as they make their way around to the backyard.

Having heard the vehicle arrive, Robin steps away from his groomsmen and meets them halfway.

Snow finishes straightening David lapel, before turning and kissing Robin's cheek. "This place is beyond gorgeous." She says referring to the painstaking care he's put into readying the place for this day. "You've outdone yourself. Regina is going to love it."

"I hope so. If she does, it'll be worth all the hard work and sweat that when into it; not to mention all the late-night hours when I should've been sleeping." He offers all his guests a warm smile in greeting. Quickly scanning the group, he realizes that the most important members seem to be missing. "Not to complain. I'm glad you're all here, but can anyone tell me where my bride and my best man are?"

Emma shrugs. "We don't exactly know. We had car trouble. We had to abandon one of the limos on Main Street. For some reason, she was dead set against us using magic to get here."

"She told us all to get in the other car and head this way." Her son continues the explanation. "Roland took off after her. He said something about, he had to go with her because you would. She said to tell you not to worry. She's on her way. She promises she'll be here." Henry shrugs, wishing there was more to say.

Hook checks the time via his phone, and then drops the muted device in a pocket. "She's gonna be cutting it close, mate. She's got six minutes."

Unsettled, but willing to trust in her, Robin replies, "Henry, Roland is correct. I wouldn't have left her to go off by herself, had I been there. Emma, she doesn't want anyone using magic, because she doesn't want anything to magically go wrong. She wants this one day free of what she called magical shenanigans. "And Hook - we're going to give her those six minutes. If she said she'd be here, then she'll be here."

While they wait, they stand around talking in small groups, about the barn, the carriage house, the decorative landscaping and flowers Robin has worked so hard to provide for his bride. He's laid a stone walkway around the barn, laid a patio between the barn and carriage house and lined both alternating red roses with white lilies. Little John and Will Scarlet did their part to help and built a magnificent archway for the ceremony and weaved the latticework with the two flowers and sprinkled in a few apple blossoms as well. The sweet but delicate fragrances of the flora perfume the air that seems almost to be enchanted in the soft light of late morning on this slightly overcast day. Tender rays of golden sunlight shine their way around innocent billowy gray clouds.

Robin mixes and mingles, doing his best to make his guests feel attended to with a little help from Snow, and he tries, with Herculean effort, not to be affected or annoyed by people checking their watches. Just when the Blue Fairy turned Mother Superior and Friar Tuck look his way with raised eyebrows, his ears catch a faint but recognizable sound; the soft winnie, and hoof beats of a horse approaching at a mild gallop. Holding up an index finger, silently asking them for patience, he turns about; looking for the source of the sound. By the time he spots the animal, others have caught on too and have turned in time to see Regina emerging through the forest astride a large black stallion with Roland riding along, nestled safely in her embrace.

Robin locks eyes with her and returns her smile as she comes to a stop. Approaching slowly, he takes hold of the horse's bridle and speaks soothingly to the animal. "Whoa, there lad." He pats the horse's neck in gratitude and whispers kindly, "Thank you for bringing her to me, Toronado."

Regina relinquishes the reins to him, and he hands them off to Hook so he can lift his smiling son down from his lofty perch.

"Hi Daddy. Are we late?"

"Almost." Hook answers for his friend as he lowers his son's feet safely to the ground. "Cutting it kind of close, aren't you, Your Majesty." The pirate inquires, willingly taking up their usual snarky banter.

Regina shrugs undaunted. "Hook, you know what else they call almost late?"

Hook raises a curious eyebrow.

Regina and Robin answer in harmony. "Right on time."

Laughing at themselves, they take a moment to look one another over. She was right. He looks so distinguished in the black tuxedo with silver accents; the color of the vest and bow tie catching, and amplifying, the blue in his eyes. And, he wasn't wrong either. He knew she'd make a dazzling bride. Only she could show up in a two-tone dress made of the finest quality silk with an off-the-shoulder black corseted bodice enhanced by silver filigree embroidery and a full white ballroom-style skirt with the hem lined in another three inches of black silk and adorned with equally fine silver embroidery and look absolutely radiant.

Mindful of her skirt, she swings gracefully down from the saddle with Robin's ready hands at her waist to guide her. Safely down, and she turns and does battle with the desire to kiss him. Standing close enough for her to feel his breath, he whispers. "You're breathtaking."

"So, are you." She whispers back. "And, you've been busy." She gestures to the setting around them. "I figured out a few days ago that you were actively trying to keep me away, when I offered to meet you here and, for the third or maybe the fourth time in a row, you met me elsewhere. I knew you were up to something, but I didn't know what. Now, I'm glad I didn't just show up unannounced and spoil the surprise. Robin, it's glorious; thank you! When did you plant the apple trees?"

He shrugs as if the hour was of no consequence. "Three o'clock this morning."

"Oh Robin, you did not?"

"Did too. Couldn't sleep. He winks and offers her his arm, intent on escorting her the short distance to her father's side. "What do you say we go get married, Mi'lady?"

Regina smiles softly as she takes his arm. "I'm with you, sir."

 **Chapter 71: True Love's Promise**

Standing at the front of the line of merry men with his father next to him, Little John immediately behind him, and his - very soon to be - brother smiling from a few feet away, Roland tries not to squirm in excitement as he waits for the bride to make her way to them under the sweet smelling flowered archway. He smiles brilliantly when the orchestra starts to play the Wedding March, and on the arm of her father, Regina begins her walk.

Regina forces herself to measure out her steps and take the walk slowly; as it is meant to be done. She smiles warmly at both boys and, in her heart, she feels the bittersweet sting of the realization that her son is not a little boy anymore. Henry stands so tall and proud. He's a little gangly, but that'll pass any day now; she knows. It seems only yesterday he was an infant. Tomorrow he will be a man. Her eyes shine with pride as her heart cries out, "No, wait! Stop; not so fast! Slow down!' But he cannot stop; it's inevitable and as much as she wants to keep the boy, she can't wait to meet the man. Her gaze travels to Roland. Roland, with his dark eager eyes, and his sweet dimples. He's thrilled. Thrilled, and incredibly impatient, but he's trying with all his might to stand still and wait. She gets a second chance at motherhood. A second chance to experience a little boy's childhood. Maybe this time, she can do it without making a little boy miserably unhappy. To tarnish his obvious love and affection for her would be unbearable.

Half the town RSVP'd, and most of them showed up. She dares not gaze at her guests too long. She simply smiles warmly in acknowledgment. When they sent out the invitations, she hadn't thought this many people would attend. A good many of them still think of her as a villain. Maybe they came for Robin she thinks and then, pushes the thought away to avoid thoughts and feelings that will only distract her.

Her gaze moves to Snow, who stands waiting patiently beside her son. Regina hadn't asked the younger woman to fill the position of Matron of Honor. She had considered it. She supposes she even wanted it, but the thought of voicing the request made her want to throw a fireball or run and hide in a dark closet like a child. So, she'd never actually done it. Somehow, Snow had seemed to understand, and she had accepted without ever being asked. Likewise, Emma had accepted a role as well. Regina bites her lower lip to keep from chuckling. Probably with her mother's warm, cheerful, insistent prodding. She hadn't even complained about her dress fitting – much. They're both beautiful in coordinating dresses with white bodices and long black skirts; each of them holding a bouquet of vibrant red roses. And the groomsmen – they're actually quite handsome. Each of them cleaner and more dressed up than she's ever seen them. It's a sight she doubts she will ever see again, and she knows they didn't do it for her. They are each a little uncomfortable but, they've allowed themselves to be polished and shined in deference to, and out of respect for, Robin.

When Regina finally allows her gaze to travel to Robin's, the light in his eyes has a paradoxical effect. In the same instant, she does battle with an urge to come to a complete standstill - rendered immobile by breathtaking awe and unrelenting love – and the opposing urge to close the distance between them at a run and throw her arms around him. Still, with her arm tucked safely in her father's, she forces herself onward in the same slow, proper, manner.

She thinks she is managing it just fine until she hears a quiet, gentle, one-word nudge, coming from under her father's breath. "Breathe."

She must bite her lip to keep from laughing aloud as he squeezes her hand reassuringly; like the unwavering rock that he is. He's her rock - her anchor – and her compass. She hadn't even realized she'd stopped breathing, but here he is; doing what he always has. He's looking out for her; trying his best to guide her safely to where she most wants to be. And this time, she's going to let him do it.

When Henry finally places her hand in Robin's, though they spoke to each other only moments ago, she smiles and whispers happily, "Hi"

Robin chuckles softly and whispers back. "Hello, my love."

Before they can say more, Roland turns his attention to the two people officiating the ceremony and whispers loudly. "You can start now."

The entire wedding party, as well as all their guests, laugh cheerfully at the eager little boy.

Friar Tuck winks. "Easy there, lad. You're not supposed to be more anxious than the bride and groom."

Young Roland shrugs undaunted, and offers another stage whisper, "Just hurry up." He flashes his dimples and remembers to add on politely, and with a great deal of innocent charm, "please."

Chuckling at his antics, neither Robin nor Regina has the heart to scold the child for simply voicing desires that mirror their own.

Smiling warmly at him, and taking her well-delivered cue, the mother superior wastes no further time getting started. "We have gathered here this morning in the presence of family, friends, and neighbors to witness the joining together of Robin and Regina in the promise of marriage. The marriage of two people committed to one another was established with reverence, and it should be an event held in honor by all who bear witness to it. It is both, one of our greatest blessings and one of our most awesome responsibilities. Marriage is not to be entered into lightly, but solemnly and deliberately."

She pauses a moment before adding, "At this time; we invite you to join together in a moment of silence so that this marriage may be blessed."

Prior to closing his eyes to ask for the strength and the patience to get this right, Robin watches Regina smile up at him the instant before she closes her eyes and makes her own silent request for peace and understanding between them. When the moment ends, the caress of his hand against her cheek brings another smile to her lips and she opens her dark eyes to find his blue eyes slightly misty and shining down at her.

As Friar Tuck asks, "Who is here to give this woman away?" Regina pokes Robin gently on the chest as she whispers for his ears only, "Don't you dare cry thief. If you do, I'll cry too. Queens are not supposed to do that in public."

Robin takes hold of the hand she poked him with once more and gently brings it to his lips for a soft kiss as her father answers, "I offer my love and my support to this union, but Regina is her own woman. She gives herself to him freely."

Caught pleasantly unaware of what his response would be, Regina smiles at her father with heartfelt gratitude and mouths "I love you, Daddy." before he nods and moves to take his seat with the others.

Storybrooke's mother superior continues. "A marriage is not only the joining together of two individuals, it is also a joining of families. Roland, Henry with this marriage your two, separate families become one. Will you welcome and support your parents in their decision to bring this family together?"

When they both answer respectively with "Yes" and "With pleasure." Regina bites down hard on her lower lip to dam the sudden flow of happy tears threatening to spill and, in very short order, she finds herself wrapped gently in Robin's arms.

"Well, I'd tell you two to join hands." Tuck declares. "But that would require you both to let go of each other, first."

In response, Regina tightens her embrace and, without lifting it from his shoulder, she shakes her head. Robin throws his own head back and laughs aloud before lowering it and dropping a tender kiss on the crown of her head. "That's not going to happen Tuck. Once she gets hold of me, it takes her a while to let go. Carry on."

"I will, but you're not supposed to kiss her yet, lad."

The laughter of their friends and family rises and floats on the breeze as Robin caresses Regina's cheek. In a voice thick with emotion, and audible only to her, he whispers. "I love you."

"Love you too." is her hushed reply. Then louder, so others can hear, she asks, "So what do you say we wrap this up."

Robin smiles the smile she loves and then turns his attention briefly back to their officiates.

"Yes, yes. Where were we? Aw, Yes." Friar and the nun resume their two-part rhythm as Tuck begins again with, "Robin, do you take this woman you hold, come whatever may, to be your lawful wedded wife; and do you promise before us all to love, honor, and protect her through both the light and the dark; keeping yourself only unto her alone until death do you part?"

"I do." He promises with abiding sincerity.

"Regina, do you take this man you hold, come whatever may, to be your lawful wedded husband and do you promise before us all to love, honor, and protect him through both the light and the dark; keeping yourself only unto him alone until death do you part?"

"I do." She promises with passion and happiness.

The blue fairy speaks once more. "You have chosen to seal your vows by the giving and receiving of rings. The ring forms a perfect circle, without a beginning or an end, and is thereby a symbol of eternity and signifies the duration of the commitment you are making. The gold of which the rings are made signifies the purity and value of the relationship into which you enter. Let us now exchange these rings.

Having paid very close attention, which earns him a bright smile from both Robin and Regina; Roland steps forward, eager to do his part. Reaching into the pocket of his jacket he extracts Regina's ring and quietly hands it to his father while young Henry steps forward as well and gives Robin's ring to his mother before they step back to their respective places beside each parent and fold their hands behind their backs, eagerly awaiting the conclusion of the ceremony.

Robin, Regina you have the privilege of placing this ring on your sweetheart's finger in virtue of the exclusive covenant into which you now enter. If you will both, please, repeat after me."

With emotions rising to the surface yet again, they find themselves lost once more in each other and only half aware of the people around them but, somehow, they manage to take turns. "I give you this ring, as a symbol of my love, and with all that I am, and with all that I have, I will honor you." Steady hands triumph despite racing hearts and the simple yet elegant golden bands slide so naturally into place.

As the first faint drops of light rain began to fall, their lips brush for an instant before the friar objects noisily. "Not yet! If you two can hold your horses for just two more seconds…."

"And now, by the authority invested in us, and in accordance with the laws of the State of Maine, we pronounce you husband and wife." Pausing for effect, the fairy and the friar grin at each other with mischief alight in their eyes, "Now… you may kiss your bride."

Already nestled in each other's arms, their kiss begins before the officiates are through speaking. The people of Storybrooke cheer, laugh and cry. Some of them even manage to do all three at once. After several long seconds when the sweet kiss still hasn't broken, the rotund friar chuckles and whispers to his cohort, "You think we'll get to make the formal introduction before this light mist becomes an autumn storm?"

"You might better do it now if that's your goal." The mother superior whispers; happily eyeing the couple.

Tuck clears his throat like a grand orator. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my very fine pleasure to introduce to you, for the very first time, Mr. and Mrs. Robin Locksley."

 **Chapter 72: Right Where We Are**

As David surveys the open expanse of the barn's refurbished carriage house, his wife returns to his side and hands him a glass of punch. "Who are you looking for?" She inquires quietly; the conversation meant for him and Emma alone in the crowded room.

"The bride and groom. I haven't seen either of them for at least 45 minutes."

His daughter chuckles knowingly and sips her own drink from her place at her father's other side. "I don't know where they are, but I'm pretty sure I know what they're up to – wherever they are."

"This party is less than three hours old!" David declares and laughs with mild shock. "Don't tell me they've fled the scene already."

Snow chuckles; her eyes going wide as she lectures mildly, "You might be surprised, Emma. A few minutes ago, I went outside to hold an umbrella for Roland and Big John. I caught sight of the two of them on the third-floor balcony of the barn. They do look slightly disheveled, but they're still dressed, and swaying in time with the music. It's loud enough. I guess that's one advantage to having a wedding reception out in the woods. No one's going to complain about the loud music; except for maybe the squirrels and raccoons."

"What? Out there in the rain?" David asks incredulously. "They can't come in here and dance with the rest of us?"

Snow rolls her eyes as if her next comment should be blatantly obvious. "Honey, they want to be alone. And they aren't actually dancing in the rain. The balcony is covered. It's not raining on them. it's just raining all around them. Besides, now that you mention it," Snow squints. "I don't think I've ever seen Regina dance."

"With all the balls you've had occasion to attend?" Emma asks.

Snow turns the pages of her memory silently one more time before shaking her head. "I have seen her in attendance at plenty of balls. I've just never seen her dance. Maybe she's self-conscious about it. That is the sort of thing Regina wouldn't admit to. They're barely dancing up there, just sort of swaying in place along with the rhythm of the music.

Emma offers. "That's one of the best ways to do it. You forget about the formality, the steps, and who's watching and you just… hold each other."

As Hook approaches the trio, Emma sets her empty glass on the tray of a passing waiter and reaches for his hand. She gives her parents a smile of farewell as she pulls him toward the makeshift dance floor in the center of the room. The two of them fall into step with one another as the band rolls into Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud.

Outside pale sunlight penetrates gray clouds as the rain falls and Robin holds his bride in a tender but relaxed embrace and turns a slow lazy circle, content to be just as he is - jacket discarded, bow tie undone, and alone with his lady.

As the melody flows and the band leader sings of how people fall in love in mysterious ways, Regina lifts her head off his shoulder and offers him a soft radiant smile that he knows will live in his mind for eternity. With her shoes relegated to the same heap his jacket and bow tie are in, she stands before him barefoot beneath her dress, and with her hair slightly mussed courtesy of their first heated tryst as man and wife. He chuckles softly at how gloriously improper it all is and runs the pad of his thumb warmly over her cheek.

"Something funny thief?" She murmurs softly as she sways in his arms.

"You're a bit of a mess, Your Majesty – and you've never been more breathtaking."

She snuggles closer somehow; even though nearly every body part they possess is already touching. "It's your fault." She accuses warmly. "it's all your fault."

"I happily accept responsibility."

Almost as if it's a confession she whispers. "I never expected to feel like this, Robin."

"Like what, Love."

Quieter still, she admits. "I feel like I'm glowing."

"You are." He assures just as quietly.

"I didn't think we'd actually get here."

He frowns slightly. "Don't tell me you thought I wouldn't show up."

"No, nothing that bad. I know you want to be here. I'm just not sure why…"

He holds a finger gently to her lips. "Stop Regina. Just stop – or should I take you back inside and take the time to get you out of this dress before I pull you back into bed."

She smiles with sweet seduction. "Not yet. Soon, but not yet."

"Okay, not yet." He smiles.

"You've got to be the only man on the face of this planet who actually wants to be married to me, Robin."

"I'm okay with that too. If you weren't worried about an absent groom, what did worry you?"

She laughs derisively before she admits, I figured some hideous portal would open up a right in the middle of the ceremony and my mother, my sister, or some other equally uninvited person would wreck everything."

"Ahh… Hence the 'no magic' rule of the day."

"Yes. Wait – how did you know about that?"

"When the car broke down, Emma said you didn't want anyone to transport magically. You're not disappointed about the car – or the rain?"

Regina shakes her head easily. "I don't really care about the car. Sure, it was inconvenient. For a minute, I thought I would be late, but things like that don't even compare with the things I was worried about. And, I like the rain. We've even got a little sunlight with it. According to old wives' tales, it's good luck if it rains on your wedding day. But it's a good thing we decided to hold the reception indoors."

He nods. "The wedding reception we barely attended."

Regina shrugs. "My mother would seriously disapprove. It's very improper, but I don't care - unless you want to go back down there." She offers, searching his blue eyes in inquiry

He shakes his head in absolute certainty. "I'm quite happy right where I am."

She smiles. "We did cut the cake, but I don't really care about all that reception nonsense. Let our friends enjoy the party for us."

"You a genius; by the way."

"I am?" She questions as the singer below croons with emotion, "Rest your head on my beating heart."

Robin nods. "I know the carriage house is big enough to accommodate the party, but it is a tiny bit cramped. I couldn't figure out why you were so adamant about not having it in the house. If they were all downstairs we wouldn't have enough privacy up here. Would we?"

She shakes her head. "Besides think of the mess they are making."

"I thought Ashley was coming in to clean up tomorrow."

"She is, but the carriage house offered us some possibility for crowd control. I'm less worried about what might get broken out there, then I am about what might get broken downstairs. Plus, we won't be here tomorrow. Ashley's going to need a crew to clean up after this bunch. I don't want a bunch of people traipsing through our house while we're away. Snow is going to supervise, but it's still better this way."

"Tomorrow, New York?"

"Right, Zelena's transfusion. We'll hang around long enough to make sure she's okay, and then we're off!" She offers a mysterious, teasing smile.

"You still aren't going to tell me where you're taking me?"

Regina shakes her head adamantly. "I got the wedding I've always wanted." She adds with sincerity, "It could not have been better, Robin. Now, I'm going to take you someplace you'll like much better than New York; I promise."

Feeling playful himself, Robin chuckles. "That doesn't say much, Mi'lady. I've seen the inside of jail cells that I liked better than New York."

She offers him a light kiss as she laughs warmly. "No handcuffs needed. I promise."

"Why didn't we schedule all this for after your sister's transfusion?"

"it's actually more convenient this way. We had to go to either New York or Boston to catch our flight tomorrow. And, I want to spend our first night together here - in our house – in our bed. Henry and Roland are going to stay with Daddy at my place. Emma and Hook are going to be his backup if he needs help with them. People can leave the reception tonight – whenever they're ready - without disturbing us. Tomorrow morning, you can drive us to New York and then get a room and nap while I see to Zelena. Tomorrow night, the honeymoon continues. You won't mind the brief interruption, too badly will you?"

"I'll survive." He teases, groaning as if it will require god-like effort on his part. "How long will we be gone?"

"Three weeks. I wanted a month, but Roland could only be persuaded to be away from us for three, and even that was upon the condition that we must call him every single night. He wanted to come along. Henry talked him out of it. 'Ro, trust me, you do not want to go with them. They're going to spend two whole weeks holding hands and kissing and other yucky grown-up stuff. It will get boring fast! Stay here with me and Grandpa. I'll teach you how to play video games.' Roland was all for that!"

Robin laughs. "Henry's quite the fast talker when he needs to be."

"Probably my fault." She chuckles drolly. "It was not the first time he's had to talk himself out of a sticky situation."

"We get home, you're going to be outnumbered. Four males under one roof. You'll be the only resident lacking a Y-chromosome."

Regina shrugs undaunted. "I'm ready. I can handle it. Besides, I'm hoping that will not be the case for too very long. When the next female arrives, I am absolutely certain she will have all four of you wrapped around her tiny little finger before she's two hours old."

"I haven't a single doubt about it." His blue eyes twinkle warmly as he asks, "When do we get to toss the bloody birth control pills in the rubbish bin?"

"I want to err on the safe side. So, not until Zelena's baby is born and the doctors pronounce her to be healthy and in the clear. Tomorrow is supposed to be the final prenatal transfusion, but she may need one immediately after birth. of course, if she does, they will likely have to get it from someone else. She's due in six weeks."

"And you can only donate every nine."

"Yes, but, although it's unlikely, if that baby does arrive late, the final transfusion could still fall to me. I do want to be available if that's an option. Regina smiles suggestively as she wraps her arms around his neck. "Of course, just because we shouldn't toss the pills yet, doesn't mean we can't practice."

They come together for a slow, wet, kiss as the wedding singer comes to a heartfelt conclusion. "We found love right where we are."

 **Chapter 73: Only for You**

Without thought, Robin reaches to the other side of the bed. When his touch is met with warm but unoccupied space, he sits up quickly and looks around the darkened room. There's no sign of light coming from under the bathroom door. His wife is neither in that room or this one. He glances at the clock with its lighted digital display that informs him it's 12:42 AM.

"Regina?" He calls loud enough to be heard from anywhere in the immediate vicinity. Nothing – not a single sound is heard in response.

He groans at the thought of having to get out of bed and put clothes on. He supposes that maybe she went to the kitchen for a snack. Neither of them has taken much time to be concerned with food today. Giving her a moment, he turns his gaze to the world outside, courtesy of one of the room's floor to ceiling windows. Moonlight makes the last raindrops falling on the lush green leaves of the trees dance and shimmer light relocated stars. October weather brings plenty of rain to the East Coast. After sunrise, the air will be crisp and cold. Hopefully, if the rain doesn't continue, the sun will shine. He needs to pick up a gift in New York. One she knows nothing about. He prefers not to have to trek across the city in the rain.

Just about to toss back the sheets and blankets and go in search of her, he senses her sudden presence in the room even though there was no sound detected by his ears, no sight caught in his peripheral vision, to indicate her arrival. He turns, smiling just in time to see her stepping clear of the last tendrils of royal purple smoke that are still evaporating from the air around her. His eyes warm to the sight of her shedding a black and silver satin robe and the matching negligee she wears beneath.

He teases. "And just where have you been?"

"My place. I went to check on the boys."

Robin chuckles, eliciting a raised eyebrow from her. "You know, your Dad did raise you, right? Exactly what trouble do you think those two boys are going to get into that he can't handle?"

Seeing the irony, Regina offers him a dry smile as she slides back in beneath the blankets. "You have a point there. Unless they're practicing some bizarre human sacrifice ritual in the attic, Daddy can handle it. I woke up and decided to go on night patrol - make sure the place was locked up tight. It just took a smidgen longer than I thought it would. There are currently two houses to patrol. I was only gone for five minutes, and you were snoring when I left."

He shrugs and brushes hair back away from her face. "Well, I woke up. The bed was empty."

"Was not." She rolls her eyes. "You were in it."

"You weren't."

"Sorry, I just wanted to make sure that everybody was tucked in, safe and sound, where they belong."

"I thought it was my job to prowl the house late at night making sure that doors and windows were locked, the oven was off, and everybody was where they belong."

She shrugs. "That's because it has been your job. It's been my job, too. Until very recently, there hasn't been anybody to roll over and poke when something goes bump tonight."

Robin laughs. "I can't picture you doing that."

"What? Shaking you awake in the middle of the night and whining, 'Honey, I heard a noise. There's somebody in the house." She wrinkles her nose and shakes her head.

"If that does happen, I'm sure, instead, I will wake up to find their charred bodies sprawled bloody and smoldering on the living room rug."

"Not if they know what's good for them. I like that rug. If burglars have the audacity to mess it up with their blood and charred flesh I'm going to be seriously put out."

"Just promise me that you won't accidentally barbecue the kids when they get old enough to sneak out."

"Oh God!" Regina goes noticeably pale in the moonlight. "Robin, don't even joke about that. Henry's already old enough. The last time he snuck out, he was ten. He went all the way to New York and came back with Emma! The fallout from that event is probably why he hasn't tried it again – yet."

Robin chuckles. "Don't worry. I'm sure the next time he decides to bring a cute blonde home in the middle of the night, she'll be much closer to his own age."

Regina smirks. "You know, I've told you this before. You are not funny!"

He shrugs undaunted. "Maybe not." He drapes an arm around her. Moving in for a kiss, he whispers as she sinks back into the pillows. "But you like me anyway."

She murmurs in response as his lips caress hers, "Only because you excite me."

"I can live with that."

Hours later, she moans when he gently nudges her and places a light kiss on her bare shoulder.

"Wake up Mi'lady." He breathes warm against her ear.

Regina stretches languidly, pressing her body to his, and wraps her arms around him before opening her eyes. "Again?"

Robin smiles and shakes his head regrettably in response to the question. "I'm afraid not, my love. Not this time."

Regina snuggles closer and pulls the blankets tighter around herself. "Then why did you wake me up. The sun isn't even up yet. It's too early."

"It's time to get up."

"Why?" She scowls, suddenly realizing that he's dressed for the day. "it's too early." She repeats. "And you have on way too much clothing for a man who got married less than 24 hours ago."

"We need to be for New York. Your sister needs blood… Remember?"

Regina growls. "Why am I helping her?"

"Because it's the right thing to do."

"I don't even like her!"

"I know. But, if you don't help, a very sick baby girl might actually die before she's born. I personally would like to drop her mother off a cliff and pummel her with rocks, but no one should die before life even begins. That shouldn't even be possible."

Listening, but choosing to focus on for more pleasant things, Regina murmurs, "You smell like soap."

"Umm hmm, I just got out of the shower. I left it running for you. I'll make your coffee if you get up."

Regina lifts her head and glances toward the bathroom door, aware of the sound of running water for the first time. She scowls again. "You should've woken me up before you got in there. I would've helped you wash."

Robin chuckles, shaking his head, and drops a light kiss on her temple. "If I did that, we'd never leave this house, much less make it to New York in time for your sister's procedure. C'mon, out of bed, lazy bones.

Regina grumbles something undecipherable, but tosses the blankets aside and rises before announcing, "I'm hungry. I want espresso… And spicy breakfast tacos with extra hot sauce – and we have to go see Roland and Henry before we leave. I promised."

"When did you promise?"

Regina yawns as she stretches. "Shortly before 1:00 AM. Daddy was asleep in his chair in the living room. Henry conked out in his bed with his game boy still on. But Roland wasn't on the trundle bed in his room. I found him curled up in my bed. When I pulled the comforter up around his shoulders, he stirred just enough to ask if we were leaving already. I told him to go back to sleep, that it was late, and he asked if we'd come and see him before we left. I promised, and he rolled over and went back to sleep. He was only half - awake, to begin with, but…"

"He will remember." Robin supplies the rest with confidence. "Go on. Go shower. I'll make breakfast."

"With extra hot sauce?" She queries in reminder.

"Only for you." He smiles.

 **Chapter 74: An Emergency Stork Landing**

Robin drops Regina off at the hospital. After a warm goodbye kiss outside the hospital room where her sister waits, he's off for a few hours of unwanted alone time, but as the situation can't be helped, he decides to make the best of it. While Regina tends to her sister's needs, he runs errands, shops, and checks into their hotel suite, where he finally naps. Late in the evening, he wakes, and for a moment nothing is wrong until he realizes that he is alone. Regina should've been back hours ago. He expected to wake and find her here beside him. When she doesn't answer her cellphone – when it goes straight to voice mail without even ringing – he decides to stretch his legs.

He walks the few blocks to the hospital and is mildly shocked to find that Regina is not where he left her. For that matter, neither is her sister or Hades. Concerned, he tries her cell phone again and receives the same unfruitful result. No answer. No Regina. He stares at the phone in his hand as though he suspects the contraption is malfunctioning. When that yields no helpful results either, he approaches the nearest nurses' station.

He smiles at the skinny blonde nurse with the pixie haircut that is ill-suited for her angular features. "Pardon me for interrupting your work, but I'm looking for someone. Maybe you could help."

Giving him the once over, she smiles too warmly.

"Her name is Regina. She's about this tall. He uses a hand to indicate that she's nearly as tall as he is. Dark haired, dark eyes, and she's here to give blood to her sister's baby."

"The baby's a patient here?"

Robin thinks about it for a second and shrugs. "She's supposed to be – once she is born. The mother's name is Zelena Kronopoulos."

The nurse smiles tersely with scarcely concealed annoyance. "Oh right, the gods." She types keys on a keyboard, and stares at a computer screen, confirming what she already knows before she says, "They've been moved up one floor – to the neonatal intensive care unit. High-risk labor and delivery."

Robin frowns. "Labor and delivery? The baby isn't due for another six weeks."

The nurse nods. "That's part of why it's a high-risk delivery, that and mother's condition. Doesn't look like the baby has arrived yet though. They didn't get to do the procedure this morning. They set up for it, but when they viewed things with the ultrasound they discovered that Mrs. Kronopoulos was in the very early stages of labor. Her sister is waiting for the baby to be born so they can do that transfusion directly. Take the elevator." She points. "Go up one floor. If she's not in the waiting room across the hall from the elevators, she may be in her sister's room; 719 B."

"Thank you."

Robin turns to step toward of the elevator.

"Um…"

He turns back. "Something else?"

The nurse smiles hesitantly. "I'm off to the end of the hour. Don't suppose I could interest you in a bad cup of coffee from the hospital cafeteria? My treat."

Robin offers his smile and holds up his left hand, putting his new wedding band on display. "I'm afraid not Mi'lady." He bows ever so slightly before calling out to the person entering the elevator, asking them to wait. Waving goodbye, he trots away quickly, leaving the blonde nurse to exhale noisily in disappointment and the one sitting in the seat next to her to shrug and offer, "Well, I'll be. I thought they were all dead!"

The blonde squints in confusion. "What are you talking about, Lisa? You thought who all were dead?"

"Gentlemen. He must be the last one."

"Figures somebody else has already shackled him."

The one called Lisa laughs. "Honey, if that man is shackled, he's got to be the most willing prisoner I've ever seen."

One floor above, Robin leaves the elevator and quick steps across the hall to the waiting area where he finds his wife slowly walking the floor. When she reaches the far wall, she stops, turns, and leans her shoulders against the wall while staring at the ceiling with her arms crossed over her chest. She looks tired – tired, worried, and bored. She's still for a moment before she resumes pacing, at which point, she finally notices his arrival. As he enters and crosses the room, she sighs and offers him a smile.

"You're here."

"I'm here." He confirms. "Why didn't you call me?"

"I was going to wait another half hour, and then call. I knew you were resting. I called the hotel. They confirmed that you checked in, and the desk clerk told me that you asked for a wake-up call. I didn't want to wake you."

"Why not?"

Regina shrugs. "What for? So that you could come here and wait God knows how long. I have to wait. They want to do the transfusion as soon as the baby is out and ready. No reason why you couldn't sleep in the comfort of our hotel room."

"She is labor?"

Regina nods.

"How is she doing?"

"She's tired, and in trouble, but making too much noise to be that close to death. She's giving the doctors and nurses hell."

"About what?"

"Everything, anything, you name it. "First, she didn't know she was in labor. Apparently, she was only in the very earliest stages, and apparently, each contraction was accompanied by indigestion and pangs of nausea. She thought she had heartburn. Maybe she did have heartburn, but she was also in labor. She screamed at the doctors to make her labor stop because it is too early. They discussed it and decided they didn't want to give her anything to stop or stall labor. Yes, the baby is early, and given her pre-existing condition, early delivery will make things even worse, but babies can survive at six weeks premature. They couldn't do the procedure with her in labor. If they had stopped her labor, there's no guarantee that the stress of the procedure wouldn't have induced it all over again and the baby needs the transfusion. Zelena screamed because she doesn't want a caesarean. She wants to deliver naturally. The doctors didn't want to wait for that to happen, but she put up such a fuss, that they agreed to try. They told her if her labor progressed quickly, without further complication they would allow it. So, Hades and I sat with her, talked with her, anything to pass the time. We played cards, I painted her fingernails and then gave her a pedicure. No baby. She complained because she was hungry. The nurses tried to tell her that eating during labor was not a good idea. She raised hell until somebody brought her a popsicle. The popsicle made her sick. She threw up, and then she blamed the nurse who brought it to her. Then her blood pressure started spiking and dropping erratically. The baby's blood pressure bottomed out. When the fetal heart monitor failed to register a heartbeat for a moment, I thought Hades would drop dead on the spot. Meanwhile, Zelena is in pain and does not want an epidural. She has called Hades, me, the nurses, doctors, and the lab techs every vile name imaginable. Robin, I've heard drunken sailors who haven't seen dry land for a year, who wouldn't dare to talk that way. Some of it wasn't even in English." Regina drops her voice to a confidential level. "When she started cursing the nurses in Elfish, and one of them asked what language she was speaking, Hades lied and said it was Irish. The doctor didn't contradict him to his face, but I heard him out in the hallway telling one of the nurses 'My wife is Irish. And, whatever language she's speaking, that ain't it." Then, Zelena decided she did want the epidural after all. When the doctor told her that he wasn't going to wait any longer, and that she'd get medication before they took her in to do the caesarean, she threw a fit, but her next contraption was off the charts. When the nurse told her the baby still wasn't moving into the proper position for delivery, she finally relented. They took her in about 10 minutes ago. The doctor assured me that once they started, they can have the baby out in under 60 seconds. I don't think it should be too much longer, but I think we're going to have to reschedule our flight. I've already given blood. They wanted it done before the baby arrived, so it would be ready and waiting for her when she gets here. Things aren't going well though, Robin. I may need to stay for a bit. If that little girl doesn't survive, they are both going to fall apart."

"How's Hades?"

"Not good! He's holding it together right now because he has to. One of them has to be the sane one. He hasn't been too loud or made too much of a nuisance of himself – except for when the baby's heart stopped momentarily, or the monitor failed to register on heartbeat, whichever it was. Then, I had to peel him off the ceiling. He nearly slugged the doctor. He would have if he hadn't been standing at the foot of the bed. A contraction started and Zelena kicked him. Before he could figure out what was going on, the fetal heart monitor registered another heartbeat. I'm sure he'll crumble when it's over – no matter how it ends."

"What can I do?"

"Go somewhere, anywhere but the hospital cafeteria, and bring me back some food. The orange juice and cookie I had after giving blood wore off a long time ago."

"Okay, should I bring something back for Hades too?"

Regina shakes her head. "I'm sure Hades is probably hungry too. He hasn't left her side for a second – except for briefly, when the doctors gave him no choice. But he's not going to be able to eat. I hope he doesn't pass out in the delivery room."

Robin raises an eyebrow. "Why should he pass out? She's the one doing all the work."

"The doctors made him leave for a reason. They wanted to examine him. Earlier, he was in pain and sweating profusely. At one point, he was nearly doubled over."

Regina can't help but chuckle, even though it's not funny. "Turns out, he has appendicitis – which he finds utterly deplorable. How could he, Hades, God of the underworld, have something as common and mundane as appendicitis? I think he feels like his body is betraying him. The doctor says his appendix needs to come out. He won't leave Zelena until a baby comes. He refuses! I hope she has that baby and they can do take him into surgery before his appendix ruptures."

Robin shakes his head. "I don't like the guy, but I'll bloody well give him credit for that. I wouldn't leave you either."

Regina smiles and touches his face affectionately as she steps into the embrace he offers. Tiredly, she leans against him; momentarily resting and drawing new strength from him.

He kisses her temple and breathes quietly against her ear. "What would you like to eat. I'll get you anything you want."

She shrugs. "I don't really care what it is, but I need some protein. Beyond that, get whatever you want. Just make sure you get enough for two with leftovers for when I wake up hungry again later tonight."

"Yes Ma'am." He smiles at her as he rubs her back.

Enjoying Robin's touch, Regina waits several long seconds before stepping away. As she does so, a gurney rolls by out in the hallway, visible through the open waiting room door. Releasing Robin, she quickly trots after it with him close behind. Approaching the quickly moving gurney, she takes hold of Hades' outstretched hand and trots alongside as she listens closely, and he breathes raggedly – obviously in pain. "She here. She's alive, She glorious, but in bad shape. They won't even let me hold her. They're hooking her to all sorts of tubes and monitors. She's so tiny Regina, but she's mad and screaming just like her momma – got a head full of red hair too." He smiles with obvious pride. " Zelena is tired but," Hades pauses and winces in pain before forcing himself to go on a second longer. "The doctor says she'll be okay."

"Please step back, Ma'am. We need to take him. We need to hurry."

Regina releases his hand and then waves in agreement when he struggles to lift his neck off the pillow and look back at her as they hurriedly roll his gurney into a waiting elevator. "Stay with them, please." Hades calls hoarsely. "Don't leave them."

 **Chapter 75: Eliana's First Day**

Wrapped in a disposable gown, Regina peers down through the top of a clear plexiglass isolette at the longest, skinniest, unhappy red headed baby girl she has ever laid eyes on. She stares in utter astonishment of the volume of noise coming out of this tiny human being.

"What are you fussing about, huh?"

The baby gets quieter but does not stop her wailing completely.

"Did you miss me? I told you I would come back. I had to go check on Mummy. I promised your daddy I would keep an eye on the two of you."

The baby's unhappy cries stop momentarily. "Daddy's in surgery, and Mummy is sleeping for a little while. You wore her out. They will be here to see you as soon as they can, I promise. It's disgusting how much they love you."

Her niece screams again.

"At least your lungs work well." Regina says dryly, raising an eyebrow when the nurse standing next to her chuckles cheerfully.

"That, they do. And it's a blessing. Premies with profound respiratory problems have a tough road ahead. She's got enough to deal with already."

"I saw some other nurses taking away one of the machines when I came in. Was that a respirator?"

"It was. We put her on it initially just help her out a bit. She was breathing, but she was so weak that she was skipping every third or fourth breath. She's got a way to go yet before she's out of danger, but the blood you gave is going to get her over the hump until her little body can figure out how to take care of itself. She's already making progress."

Regina eyes the newborn with speculation. "She looks better than she did 30 minutes ago. Her color's improving. She's not quite so ashen."

The young nurse nods. "She's pinking up slowly, but it's coming."

"If she was only missing every third or fourth breath why was she so gray?"

"Red blood cells carry oxygen. Since hers were all but destroyed - she was breathing, yes, but without healthy cells to disperse the oxygen into her blood, without her connection to Mom, who was breathing for her before birth, her body was still oxygen deprived. We've replenished her blood supply, and without your sister's immune system attacking her, her body should begin to produce and maintain its own healthy level of new red blood cells. We'll keep her stable until that happens. We're watching her very closely."

"Shouldn't she have a blanket? Babies get cold."

"We'll give her one as soon as a few more of the monitors and wires come off. Until then, the lights overhead keep her warm. Because she's so small, her body is having trouble regulating its own temperature, but that sensor taped to her leg is connected to the warming lights. It is constantly monitored and adjusted so that she won't get too cold or too hot. If she keeps progressing, and her numbers keep improving the way they have been, it won't be long."

"What if she needs more blood?"

"Don't forget that one donation from you will completely replace her blood volume twice. We still have enough for another transfusion, if necessary. If she needs more than that, an order has been sent out to hold some in reserve; just for her."

"How much does she weigh? I adopted my son when he was three weeks old. I remember thinking he was tiny but he was healthy. I've never seen a baby this small. I know it happens sometimes, but this is the first one I've actually seen for myself. Henry was so little, but he was easily three times bigger than her; maybe more."

"Then, I'm guessing that at three weeks old he probably weighed somewhere around ten pounds."

Regina nods. "If I remember correctly, it was 9 ¾."

"You do. Mom's don't forget things like that. She weighs three pounds even. She will probably lose some weight before she starts gaining, but that's to be expected."

Regina shakes her head somberly. "How can a human being be that small and still live?"

"Science lets us do that."

"And, she's so long. Look at her! Her legs make up for more than half of her body."

"Yes, 21 ¼ inches total length. Most newborns aren't more than 18 inches long."

"That's nearly two feet - at birth!" Regina smiles down at the newborn. "You grow into those legs, you are going to give your daddy nightmares. Maybe I should call you Stretch, instead of Carrots."

The baby babbles and squeaks in disagreement.

"I don't think she likes that, love."

Regina turns in time to see Robin entering the room. "Well then, one of her parents needs to wake up and come tell us what her name is." She offers a warm smile to go along with her sass. "Did you bring me food?"

"It's at the desk. They wouldn't let me bring it in here." He wraps an arm around her waist as he steps close and looks down at the newborn. Smiling, he queries, "Hello there little one. Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused me?"

The baby babbles and smiles.

"She likes you." Regina says quietly.

"No, she doesn't. I just accused her of being a troublemaker, and- just like her mum would- she's bloody laughing at me."

Regina chuckles quietly. "You may have a point there, Uncle Robin.

"Do me a favor, Red. When you grow up; behave yourself."

"Her name is Eliana."

The newlyweds turn to find Hades in a wheelchair behind them. When they step back, allowing room, the orderly behind him pushes his chair closer so that he can be near his daughter.

He smiles with pride. "Hello precious. Daddy's here. You look like you're feeling a bit better. Are they taking good care of you? He carefully places a hand through the gloved entryway in the side of her isolette and caresses her small chest.

Eliana wiggles and squirms weakly in response to his touch but does not protest.

Hades turns his attention to the nurse. "Her color is much improved. Thank you for caring for her."

Unaccustomed to such pleasantries from this particular parent, she smiles in mild surprise. "We do whatever we can for the tiny humans, sir. It's our job. It's your sister-in-law you should thank."

Hades smiles at Regina with undeniable gratitude in his eyes. "I've been told there is supposed to be a new addition to your family tree at some point in the future. Just send me the bill for her college tuition – wherever she decides to go."

Pulling no punches, Regina replies. "You can leave that to Robin and I, Hades. If you're doling out tokens of gratitude, I want something much costlier that college tuition to an ivy league school."

Undaunted, Hades shakes his head as if to say, "I should have known.' Name your price, Regina. Whatever it is, I will pay it gladly."

"I want your word, Hades…"

"My word?"

"Yes, your word, and nothing less than your word, that you and your wife, will not raise this child to be a thorn in my side. I'm sick and tired of the feud."

"You've got it." Says another newcomer on wheels. "That, and anything else you want."

Regina turns yet again to find her sister has arrived with the aid of yet another orderly.

"We'll talk about it later. Here, come and see your daughter." Regina steps aside, making room and then reaches down and offers her arm for support when her sister slowly leaves the wheelchair she arrived in and rises to her feet."

Zelena, my love, I don't think you should be up and about just yet."

She smiles and waves her husband's comment aside as she leans heavily on her sister. With eyes only for her daughter, she says, "Never mind that. I'll sit down in a minute. Isn't she just exquisite."

"She is perfection." He agrees.

"When do I get to hold her?" Zelena eyes the nurse expectantly.

"When the doctor clears it… and not before. Once he does you can hold her to your heart's content. She's going to need it. Babies need to be touched and held. Right now, it's just not safe. If she keeps improving, it won't be long."

"Hello, sweet pea. Mummy and Daddy love you so very much. We can't wait to hold you in our arms and take you home with us. Maybe once we're all well enough to go home, Auntie Regina can come over one night and have dinner with us. Maybe one day next week if all goes well."

Regina smiles. "Maybe. But it will have to wait until next month sometime."

"Oh, why? Zelena turns to the nurse with alarm clearly visible in her eyes. "She's not going to be here that long; is she?"

The nurse smiles patiently. "That's unlikely."

"That's not what I meant." Regina pats her sister's arm apologetically "It's just that Robin and I have a honeymoon to get to. Once we leave, we will be gone for three weeks."

Zelena tears her eyes away from her newborn daughter to briefly stare at the wedding band that had not been on her sister's hand on her last visit. "You're married already?"

Regina nods. "Yesterday."

Zelena squints and chuckles quietly. "What's the rush?"

Regina chuckles quietly and nudges her sister's shoulder softly with her own. "No rush. In fact, it's about damn time. It's something we should have done decades ago."

"So, you're going to leave us here in the hospital?"

"You're in good hands. You'll be fine."

"But I have no idea how to do this?"

"What? Be a mother? Join the club. On my first day, I didn't have any more of a clue than you do. You'll figure it out." Regina says confidently.

"What makes you so sure?"

"You'll figure it out – because you love her."

Zelena smiles tiredly. "That's certainly true enough.'

"Good. Now, do your daughter a favor. Sit back down in this wheelchair before you fall down. It'll take even longer before you get to hold her if you injure yourself. "

Regina carefully lowers her sister back down into the chair before stepping away and placing her hand in Robin's.

"You don't have to leave right this minute." Hades declares.

"We probably should." Regina smiles knowingly. "The nurses are getting ready to kick us out anyway. All these people in here at once might over stimulate Eliana. You two should have a moment alone with your daughter before they force you back into bed where you both belong. We'll come and say goodbye before we leave the city. Call us if you need us.

 **Chapter 76: Rolling the Dice**

As Robin slides the key card into the slot on their hotel room door, he feels his wife's arms embrace him from behind; her breath warm on his neck the instant before her lips caress the flesh over the pulse point visibly throbbing there. Pushing the door open, he makes a quiet sound that is somewhere between a sigh of pleasure and a groan of frustration. One step inside the room, he holds the door open, letting her duck under his arm, trading places with him before he catches her around the waist, turns around, and traps her between himself and the door.

More than content to be where she is, she accepts and returns the warm pleasing attention his mouth offers. They tease each other for a delicious moment; gently nipping, tasting, and exhilarating. When the long passionate kiss breaks, the hard to interpret sigh that comes from Regina draws a curious look from her husband.

With a raised eyebrow and a warm smile, Robin queries, "No?"

Regina hums and purrs seductively, "Yes."

Before they can continue She pauses long enough to extract a small plastic disc-shaped container from her handbag. She closes the bag and fastens it shut once more before tossing in gently onto the nearby desk. With Robin watching her every move, the fingers of one hand threaded gently through her hair, she reaches for the other hand at her waist and turns it palm up before placing what she still holds there.

Squinting curiously, he snaps open the lid and peers inside. After a long second, he asks, "Is this your -?"

She nods. "I thought we'd have a few more months before we got to talk about tossing these."

For a split second, Robin's eyes light up like a little boy's on Christmas morning, and then he forces himself to stall. "You sure you want to do this now? Last time you donated blood you ate more afterward. Which seemed to give you a bit of an energy boost, as I recall." He winks as memory warms his mind and his body. "This time, you look a bit wearier."

"I'm tired – yes, but I'm not too tired for you." She tightens their embrace, keeping Robin's body close. "This time the immediate aftereffects of donating were not quite so severe. I didn't feel quite so wobbly afterward. Maybe because I knew what to expect. I ate a few hours before giving blood. It's been a long day, that's all. Zelena wore me out, just watching her."

"Oh? Second thoughts?"

"No. It's weird. You would think watching her grapple with labor after such a difficult pregnancy would give a woman second thoughts about getting pregnant. But, if anything, I want it even more now."

Robin smiles warmly but when the light in his eyes shifts slightly, she frowns. "Why? Are you having second thoughts?"

He shakes his head adamantly. "No - not exactly second thoughts. Thanks to our trip to the underworld, I have seen a few pictures and I want that little girl more than…"

When he trails off, at a complete loss for words, Regina nods her understanding. "Me too Robin. What is it then? You want a little more time alone; just the two of us?"

Robin laughs. "It's never been just the two of us, Regina. Right from the start, there's always been four of us. Still, that's okay. I've never minded that. I just - I don't know how they're doing it. I think the sight of our daughter in one of those horrible little plastic boxes might break me, Regina."

Catching on, Regina nods thoughtfully as she caresses his face affectionately and then shrugs. "Robin, they're doing it because they don't have a choice. I don't know if they're broken. I do know I've never seen either one of them so – docile before."

Robin nods. "I can't seem to help remembering how sick Marian was. I almost lost her before Roland was even born - and seeing their little girl like that - with tubes and wires coming and going every which way. Regina, I've never seen someone so small. That shouldn't even be allowed to happen. Nature should allow all babies to be born strong and healthy. It should just be a given."

"I agree. I know how scary that was. It scared me too. Robin, I can't promise you that nothing bad is going to happen. I live in fear of my own karma every single day. You know that better than anyone else does. Sometimes, bad things happen and it's nobody's fault. Sometimes it's preventable. Zelena's situation didn't have to be as bad as it was. She didn't take very good care of herself at the start of her pregnancy. I'm not sure why. Maybe she was more interested in staying close to Hades. Maybe there were things she just didn't know. I do believe she honestly thought everything was okay. The only thing I can promise you with absolute certainty is that, if anything does go wrong, it won't be because I didn't do everything within my power to…"

He gently holds a finger to her lips. "I know that, Regina. I'm not worried about you neglecting our child. If I were, I wouldn't be here."

"Okay, so…" She raises an eyebrow. "Do we wait a little while? Or, do we roll the dice?"

Robin studies the container of pills still resting his hand, and then he turns his gaze to his wife's face and studies her for so long that she's a breath away from poking him in the ribs when he finally makes the decision and silently tosses both, caution, and contraceptive into the small metal wastepaper basket next to the desk. Without wasting so much as another second, he wraps her in his arms and lifts her feet off the floor. In the second that it takes him to cross the room on his way to the bed, her mouth finds his again.

 **Chapter 77: Once Upon A Time**

"Come in." Zelena calls out in response to the knock at the door. She's mildly surprised when the door opens, and her sister and Robin walk in.

From the comfort of the only chair in the room, Hades declares without taking his eyes away from his daughter, "I thought by now you two had left for parts unknown."

"Yes, I thought you would have popped in earlier this morning, Zelena concurs. "Instead, you show up late afternoon looking like the proverbial lady in red."

Regina shakes her head as she moves to stand behind Hades, so she can smile down over his shoulder at the newborn in his arms. "I took Robin to the historical district for breakfast. We wandered around afterward, did some sightseeing, had lunch in the botanical gardens of Rose Hill Park, somewhere in between we saw this dress in a shop window. He likes it, so…" She strikes a pose and lets the rest of her statement fall unsaid as she addresses her niece instead. "Hello, baby girl. You look much better today."

Robin steps to his wife's side. "I'll say. No more baby in a box. You're looking good, Red."

Hades smiles as his daughter babbles and drools. "She still spends time in the isolette in the NICU. They aren't ready to move her just yet, but they let us spend time with her, and we get to hold her for a little while. She's still having a little trouble staying warm though."

"Take your shirt off." Robin recommends with ease.

Hades squints at him incredulously. "Pardon?"

Still smiling at the redheaded baby, Regina fills in the gaps. "He's recommending skin to skin contact. Use your own body heat to keep her warm. It'll help, and babies like it too. It makes them feel safe and secure. Hold her against your chest and maybe drape a blanket loosely over her back. She'll be toasty warm in no time. I did it with Henry when he was fussy after midnight. He'd go right to sleep."

"Worked like a charm with Roland too." Robin offers. "Living in a tent in the woods, if one person in the tent is awake, every person in the tent is awake. Marian had a rough delivery. She needed to sleep so she could recover properly. He'd start crying and I'd take him outside under the stars, but he was born in January. It was cold. At first, all I wanted was just to keep him warm, but it soothed him too. So, I kept doing it."

Hades glances over his shoulder at Regina and she nods affirmatively. "We aren't going to stay long. We just wanted to check on the two of you. After we're gone, give it a try. Can I hold her?"

"Sure." Hades says, preparing to hand her over as Zelena contradicts, "I wouldn't if I were you. Every time she gets more than two inches away from him, she wails like a dyspeptic banshee."

Regina smiles warmly as she takes the newborn into her arms, being very careful to support her head and neck. "Ah, so, you're a Daddy's girl, are you, Eliana? That's okay. I know a little something about that, myself. Dads are awesome, aren't they?"

She sways slightly side to side as the small hospital room doesn't really offer much room to pace in. When the child squeaks loudly in complaint, Regina perches lightly on the arm of her father's chair. "It's okay. See, Daddy's right here. You're safe." To Hades, she says, "She's still terribly tiny, but that won't last. Her color is 1000 times better. Did they have to give her more blood?"

"Yes, last night, but by morning she was back on track. The anemia is improving and so are her oxygen levels. She smiled at me this morning. Zelena got to feed her a little while ago. She cried when the nurse made her stop before she wanted to, but I guess it was okay. She spit most of it back up."

"That's okay. Babies split up all the time. Even healthy ones. As long as she kept some of it down, that's what matters. It'll take her a while to adjust the eating on her own."

Zelena frowns. "The nurse said the same thing. I'm lost. I feel like I went out for milk and wound up at the bloody hardware store – and she cries if I hold her for more than three minutes. I don't think she likes me at all."

"She will." Regina assures with confidence. "You just need to give her lots of love and let her get to know you. Talk to her – a lot."

"A lot? Why? It's not like she's going to answer me."

"No, not right away. But the more you talk to her, the sooner she will talk to you – and not a baby talk either. Make it real conversation. Besides, it's not about getting a response. It's so she gets familiar with you. Henry and I had the same trouble at first. I was at my wit's end, begging a one-month-old baby, 'I will give you anything you want. If you just stop crying…please!' Trust me, that didn't work at all, but Granny set us on the right path,"

Zelena scowls. "The old wolf in the diner?"

"Hey, don't knock that old wolf. She and I aren't exactly best buddies, but she knows a thing or two. She's raised a few pups."

"Regina, my daughter, your niece, is not some flea-bitten mutt!"

"Well, of course not!" Regina rock's the baby soothingly as she fusses in response to her mother's raised voice. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that a lot of the same rules apply. She told me to relax, and not worry so much. She said Henry was tense because I was tense, and he was picking up on that. She told me to talk to my son – tell him stories - so that he would get used to the sound of my voice. I thought it sounded too simple, at first. I wondered if she was nuts. I probably looked at her the same way you're looking at me right now. But, I'm telling you, she was right. It worked."

Regina gets up from her perch and slowly walks to her sister's bedside, talking softly as she goes. "Once upon a time; in a busy, bustling, noisy city, the tiniest of little girls was born. An enchantress with big blue eyes and bright red hair; her father named her Eliana - a name of Greek origin meaning daughter of the sun. He gave her this name because she, like her mother, brought light into his dark world."

Regina places the baby in her sister's arms. "There, now you finish it."

Zelena rolls her eyes. "No wonder Henry walks around with a storybook tucked under his arm everywhere he goes."

Undaunted Regina counters. "Hey with me for a mother, there are far worse things he could walk around with. I'm okay with Henry's attachment to his storybook. It probably won't last much longer – or at least not that need to take it everywhere with him. He's a teenager now. Pretty soon it's all going to be about girls. So, he probably won't tote a storybook around much longer unless he starts writing stories about the girls."

Zelena asks. "If he does, you'll have yourself to thank."

Regina shrugs. "There's nothing wrong with nurturing your child's talent. If you're so opposed to story time, read to her from Fashion Weekly if that is more your speed. The point is…talk to her."

Zelena smiles at her daughter. "I'm not opposed to story time. I'm just not sure I can do that – make up stories of the top of my head."

Regina shrugs again. "I didn't make anything up. What did I say that wasn't 100% true? Just tell her the truth in a calm soothing voice. Tell her who she is. Tell her who you are. Tell her things she'll need to know."

"You started this one. Are you sure you don't want to finish it yourself?"

Regina shakes her head as she kisses a fingertip and softly presses it to the baby's forehead. "I'll let you do the honors, Mum." To the baby, she says, "I will come back to see you in a few weeks. Auntie Regina and Uncle Robin have a honeymoon to get to. You keep growing, get bigger. It's not good for baby girls to be so skinny."

As Robin reaches for his wife's hand, Hades inquires, "Where will you be honeymooning?"

Robin chuckles. "I have no idea. My wife won't tell me."

"Not that it matters. He'd follow me anywhere."

"Me? What about you? You followed me all the way to the underworld."

Feeling saucy, Regina shrugs. "I only did that for your son. If it hadn't been for Roland, you would have been on your own, thief."

Pulling his wife gently toward the door, Robin chuckles softly as he flashes his smile. "Now, why don't I believe her? He asks as they step over the threshold.

 **Chapter 78: Where to Mi'lady?**

Because he has no idea where they're going, Robin follows his wife through the airport dutifully. There's no point asking questions she isn't going to answer so he subjects himself to the crowds and airport security without complaint. He waits until he's settled into his first-class seat and 20 minutes into their flight before he quietly jokes. "Am I allowed to ask questions now?"

Regina offers him a dry smirk to go with her answer. "Robin, you're always allowed to ask questions."

He chuckles drolly. "Always allowed to ask, but not always allowed to know the answers?"

Mindful of other passengers, she keeps the conversation quiet. "It was fun keeping it a secret, but I suppose I should tell you now that we're on our way."

"That would be helpful."

"To begin with, we're going to Barcelona."

"I learned that much at the departure gate, love. Where is Barcelona?"

"Spain."

"And, where is Spain?"

"On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean." Regina removes her tablet from the roomy shoulder bag underneath her seat. She pulls up a world map and points as she talks. "We just left here. We're going all the way over here."

Trying to gauge the distance, Robin asks, "How long is this flight going to take?"

"All night, but they'll be serving dinner in a little while. After that, you should get some sleep while you can. That's a nonstop flight. There won't be any layovers or plane changes." Her voice already quiet, she drops it to an even more discreet whisper. "Once our plane lands, I'm going to do everything I can to keep you awake."

In response to the seductive warmth in her voice, he threads his fingers through hers. He's a breath away from offering a kiss when something occurs to him. "To begin with?"

Before answering, Regina reaches into her bag once more and pulls out the ½ inch thick folder that contains their complete itinerary. "We fly to Barcelona tonight. The real fun doesn't start until tomorrow. Day one, we board a cruise ship. We spend the next 14 days visiting nine ports of call and ten European cities. After the cruise, we fly to London and spend the next six days there. Throughout the trip, we can visit as many of the tourist attractions as you want, and still spend a generous amount of time alone together in bed."

Robin's eyes go wide, and for a protracted moment, he says nothing. First, he steals a kiss, then he readily admits, "It sounds heavenly Mi'lady, or at least I know it's supposed to, but a fortnight on a ship – I may have a few doubts about that?"

Regina chuckles softly and momentarily raises an eyebrow until she realizes where the confusion lies. "It's not a ship like the ones in our world." She whispers for his ears only.

"Okay, then what kind of ship is it?"

"It's a Carnival cruise ship. It's basically a floating five-star hotel and resort – almost a small city. We don't have to visit the ports of call. We can stay on board the ship and still have more fun than we need. There are pools, games, fine dining, shows, tons of things to do and see without ever setting foot on dry land. We can do as little more as much as we want. We can just stay in our stateroom if we like. There's 24-hour room service available. Plus, off the boat, we'll have the opportunity to visit Florence, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Dubrovnik, Corfu, Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, and Barcelona, of course." Along with any place else we like as long as we're back on the boat before it leaves port. It's a roundtrip. We'll end where we started; back and Barcelona

And afterward, we're going to London?"

"Yes, I want more time there. We will be flying over from Barcelona and staying six days before we head for home."

"Regina, it sounds wonderful. It also sounds expensive. You should've told me about this."

Shaking her head, she waves the comment aside. "I booked the trip months ago; after we are back from the underworld. I found a good deal, and I've had the funds set aside for years."

When her husband raises an eyebrow, she smiles and offers in a barely audible whisper. "I started saving years before I met you. I've been here 31. This world is huge, Robin. I've always wanted to see more of it. Living in Storybrooke, and never venturing farther than Boston or New York – it's like living a whole lifetime and never venturing beyond the Enchanted Forest unless there's a realm jump involved. I knew years ago that I wanted to see more of this place. I've had the money for a while now. All I needed was someone to go with me. The thought of exploring an entire world by myself doesn't sound like nearly as much fun."

He squeezes her hand affectionately. "You want to see the whole world?"

Regina laughs softly. "Well, not in the next three weeks. We'd have to space it out to make it manageable. Maybe take a short trip once a year, and a bigger trip once ever – Oh, say once every five years. We could invite the children along for the shorter ones.

"You've given this a lot of thought."

"I have. I've wanted to do this for years."

"Just, not alone?"

Regina wrinkles her nose and shakes her head. She repeats, "That doesn't sound like half as much fun."

"Still, if you had told me about this I would've found a way to contribute to it."

"You are contributing. Your presence is the most important part." She adds in a lonely, wistful, tone; "I didn't think I'd ever have anyone to go with me, Robin."

Sensing the tightly controlled emotions behind her words, he squeezes her shoulders affectionately and kisses her temple. "My wife, the aspiring world traveler."

She hands him the folder and lets him go through it for a few silent moments. When he closes it, and offers, "We're going to be busy." with an eager smile. She returns to the conversation with fervor. "When we get to London, I want to visit Saint Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, a few genuine English pubs, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace, and we're also going to check out Sherwood Forest."

When Robin raises a skeptical eyebrow, she smiles and whispers, "Well, this world's version anyway. There's a tour guide in my bag. You pick some places too."

He chuckles warmly; enjoying her enthusiasm. "I'm sold. Count me in and lead the way."

 **Chapter 79:** **Life Aboard a Cruise Ship Named Glory**

Balancing their nearly insatiable desire for one another with their desire to make the most of their honeymoon cruise, Regina and Robin seldom rise before 9:00 AM to share decadent breakfasts in the privacy of their luxurious stateroom with its glorious view of the ocean. Upon seeing it for the first time; as soon as the steward - who had escorted them to their suite, left them to unpack their bags and settle in - Robin whistled in quiet astonishment.

"You weren't kidding about when you said it would be a floating five-star hotel. Something tells me this is a far cry from life aboard the Jolly Roger!"

Regina grimaces as she wraps her arms around his neck and presses her body to his. "I wouldn't spend another two days, let alone two weeks, aboard that barnacle! Just the memory of our trip to Neverland is enough to make me want to abandon ship!" She shakes her head before offering him and indulgent kiss. "Dark mermaids, along with tides and weather that were linked to our moods and attitudes; Hook and David trying to pulverize one another; and Emma jumping ship just to get our attention and make us realize that if we didn't stop bickering, we'd all go down with the ship. No thank you! This voyage will be much more pleasant. If it's not, someone's going to walk the plank!"

Royal decree made the first five days of their honeymoon are awash in self-indulgent splendor. Day one they feast in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona where they sample a culturally diverse array of food and drink from La Boqueria, before day two is spend at sea in route to other ports of call. Rather than participating in the many activities available to them on board, they spend the day locked away alone together; indulging only in each other until dinner time when they finally venture out of their stateroom in need of sustenance. They stay only long enough in the grand dining room for a fine meal and a quick after-dinner drink before returning to the pleasures of bed. Day three, they walk across the medieval Stone Bridge, and frequent the jewelry shops of Ponte Vecchio in Florence along with the Palazzo Pitti; the renaissance palace and art gallery. Rome, on the fourth day, brings them to St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine chapel, the Coliseum, and the Trevi Fountain before visiting the bars in Piazza Navonna. On their fifth day, they tour the Archaeology Museum, Mount Vesuvius, and the Spaccanapoli in the historical District of Naples.

At night, before dinner aboard ship, Robin flops down on the bed beside Regina who kicks off her heels and sighs with a pleasant mix of fatigue and contentment. He steals a kiss and threads the fingers of one hand through her dark hair before inquiring with an easy smile. "What's on the agenda for tomorrow, Your Majesty?"

Tomorrow is one of our days at sea. I suggest we make it a lazy one – one that does not require a lot of physical exertion. I'm having a grand time, Robin, but my legs and feet are tired of all the walking and touring."

"Are we overdoing it?"

She smiles and shakes her head – no as she wobbles a contradictory hand side to side in the air. "It'd be fine if we weren't keeping each other awake ¾ of the night. I'm not about to suggest that we stop that, so – let's be lazy tomorrow and recharge a bit. I want to visit the ship's spa - get a massage, and maybe a facial. While I'm doing that, you could go swimming, visit the casino, whatever you want. After tomorrow, it's another four days - another four cities to explore."

"Which four?"

Without leaving his embrace, she stretches, reaching for their trip itinerary and browsing it briefly before answering "Dubrovnik, Corfu, Sicily and Malta. I want to go sailing in Majat. Corfu has lots of beaches and museums, and a nice theater too. We could see a show if one airs early enough for us to make it back to the ship in time before they hoist anchor. Sicily is full of cathedrals and churches, historical tombs, and museums. If you've had your fill of them, we can find a nice place to eat lunch – enjoy some Sicilian cuisine. it looks like we can charter a fishing boat in Sciacca, if you like."

She pauses long enough to raise an eyebrow and waits for him to nod before she continues.

"Malta, let's see." She wrinkles her nose. "Lots more historical and archaeological museums. Quite a few palaces. Let's not, once you've seen one palace, you've pretty much seen them all. You can have a lesson and go scuba diving in the morning in Comino, while I do some shopping. I have a gift for Daddy, and one for Henry. We still need one for Roland, and something nice for Snow to say thank you - for all her help with the wedding. And, after that, we can meet at the Valletta Waterfront for a late lunch."

Robin chuckles agreeably. "Okay, but when we get home, "I'm going to sleep for two days straight."

"After Malta, we get another lazy day at sea. Then Sardinia. Followed by another day aboard ship as we make our way back to Barcelona. From there we will fly to London, where we can enjoy being on dry land for six days before flying home.

"I almost forgot about England. I admit, I'm interested to tour this world's version of Sherwood Forest. I'm going to have fun laughing at whatever they got wrong!"

"I thought you might enjoy that." She chuckles softly as she sits up, pulling him along with her. "Come with me," She insists when he resists slightly.

"Where are you off to now? Can't we just lay here for a minute?"

"You can if you want to shower for dinner separately. I need food after all the walking we did today. Especially if you intend to keep me awake tonight."

Robin arches an eyebrow in intrigue. "I can have a quick nap alone, or have a shower with you?"

"Yes, those are your options." She smiles seductively.

He offers her a wide thoughtful smile. "Can we skip the dining room tonight? Just shower and order in – eat dinner in bed, and then maybe go to sleep before 2:00 AM?"

"Sounds like a plan." Regina offers him a light, teasing, kiss as she abandons the bed. "You call and order for us - and choose something sweet for dessert. I'll go warm up the shower."

 **Chapter 80: Homeward Bound**

Watery sunlight seeps through fat gray clouds as Robin and Regina walk side by side under a shared umbrella through Westminster. Shortly after their tour of Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard, Robin looks on, smiling quietly, as Regina is momentarily captivated by two small blonde children of maybe three or four years of age.

They are unmistakably brother and sister, and judging by their similarity in appearance, size, and age, they are likely fraternal twins. The two flaxen-haired imps stick out their tongues and make silly faces that mirror each other. They clown about, playing, bouncing, performing clumsy aerobatics and deliberately romping through puddles; splashing and making a grand mess of things as they try, quite earnestly, to win the attention of a stone-faced palace guard who is visible through the ornate ironwork of the fence.

Under the watchful eye of a young mother - an unmistakable fellow tourist - their unrewarded antics fill the space of several minutes, and the guard never so much as cracks a smile. His watchful eyes register the presence of the clowning children but never rest on them for more than a flicker in time as he diligently minds his post. At length, the little boy scowls and waves in disappointment, as if to say, 'the heck with you.' while his determined sister breaks into an ill-preformed and precociously clumsy tap dancing routine despite her lack of appropriate footwear. Her obviously brand new, lime green, Wellington boots only add charm to the spectacle she is creating. When, at last, she is forced to stop, in order to catch a breath, she cocks her head to one side and eyes the guard with curious consternation.

Hoping to soothe disappointment, Regina leaves Robin's side momentarily. She approaches the children cautiously, offering their mother a warm smile as she catches the young duo's attention. Stooping slightly, so she's closer to their eye level, she explains in a conspiratorial stage whisper. "He's impressed. I promise. It's just that he takes his job very seriously. He's a soldier. He can't afford to be distracted. The welfare and safety of the royal family rests on his shoulders."

"Is the family even in residence today?" The children's mother asks.

As Robin watches, Regina straightens up to her full height and carefully observes the flags flying before answering. "Yes, they are in, today. You can tell by the flags on display." Returning her attention to the children her eyes go wide. "The queen has great-grandchildren. Suppose they are here, too Just imagine if something happened to one of them, because, instead of doing his job, that stalwart fellow over there was watching you dance."

The little girl makes a face that clearly says 'yikes!' while her brother marches about like a stiff-legged-storm trooper straight out of Star Wars and declares in a comically frightening voice, "Off with his head!"

Regina chuckles softly. "Let's hope not!"

"Mason!" His mother objects as she chews on her lower lip; trying not to laugh.

Undaunted, Mason looks around; shrugging in dismissal when the palace guard does not object to his words.

His mother explains, "I just finished reading Alice in Wonderland to them. Maisie didn't care for the Queen of Hearts, and just to aggravate her, her brother has taken up the queen's mantra."

Returning to Robin's side, Regina waves goodbye to the trio and offers lightly, in farewell, "Don't tease her too much Mason. Your sister is smart, and she's right to be weary. I've met the Queen of Hearts. She's not to be trusted."

Uncertain how to interpret the pretty lady's words, young Mason offers his mother a curious frown. "Mama?"

Laughing as she turns to go her own way, the woman takes her children by the hand. "Mace, honey, she's only teasing. She's just having a little fun with you. We talked about this. It's only a made-up story, remember?"

Mason nods dolefully, while his sister glances back over her shoulder at Regina; obvious doubt present in her voice as she tells her mother, "I don't think so Mama. What if you're wrong?"

Robin chuckles quietly as the distance between them grows. The woman's answer trails away unheard; courtesy of the light breeze.

"What were you going to do if that woman took you seriously?"

Regina shrugs dismissively. "If she thought I was serious, she would also think I'm certifiable; ready for a rubber room somewhere." She would have taken her kids and backed away quickly. She didn't. She thought it was all in good fun.'

"Poor kids. They'll never know."

"The girl does. That's the magic of childhood. You get to see things, believe in things, no one else does. Very few of this world's people retain that ability in adulthood. As they age life teaches them not to believe."

"In magic?"

Regina nods. "Magic, princesses, kings, and kingdoms, heroes and villains… It all just becomes part of a fairytale."

Robin nods as well. "I laugh at all the things they get wrong, but sometimes it's a touch irritating. I guess they mean well, and their attempt at paying homage to Sherwood Forest was nice enough. I suppose it serves a purpose. Gives people jobs, puts food on tables, but in truth, it made me a little homesick."

Regina frowns. "Robin, I'm sorry. I didn't think. Taking you there was a bad idea. I've been here a lot longer than you. I should've thought about that. I remember how I felt the first few years I was here. It was hard. Everything was so different. Even if it hadn't been, living the life of royalty, I was so sheltered. I didn't know how to function on my own for a while. At first - for the first few years – all I wanted to do was go home."

"It's alright, Regina. Maybe someday we'll get to go back. Maybe someday, I'll get to show you the real Sherwood Forest Maybe not. Until then, or even if we don't ever go back, home is wherever you are – you and the boys."

She threads her fingers through his and offers him a light kiss. "Robin, I've had a wonderful time these last 2 1/2 weeks, but I admit, I'm really starting to miss our boys."

"As am I, my love. It's getting harder and harder to get Roland off the phone when I call to check in."

Regina studies his face quietly for a long beat.

He raises an eyebrow in question. "What?"

"We still have 2 1/2 days left. We can either stick it out, soak up the last of our alone time, or we can contact the airline, and try to swap our tickets for an earlier departure."

Robin squeezes her hand affectionately and shakes his head. "No, I won't do that to you – ask you to cut our honeymoon short."

"First, you haven't asked. I'm offering. I miss the boys too. Besides, just because we go home doesn't mean the honeymoon is over. We'll just have to relegate it to post-bedtime hours, that's all. We don't have to travel to far off places to spend time alone together. We do have a bedroom waiting for us at home – one with a very nice bed it. We can scrap the foreign cities, add some candles and a bottle of wine, and still have just as good a time. If the house gets a little crowded and we find we need a quiet weekend for two… I know a man who can probably pitch a tent in the woods while blindfolded."

"Hmm…" Robin winks and plays along. "I know this lady who can light a very nice campfire with the mere flick of her wrist."

"See, if need be, we'll just get them together."

"So…" He raises an eyebrow. "We're going home?"

"Who gets to tell Roland?"

"Let's not. If we call and tell him we're coming home two days early he might refuse to sleep again until we get there. Let's not do that to your dad."

Regina chuckles. "Okay, we'll surprise them, but you don't have to worry about Daddy. He can handle anything Roland can dish out. Trust me, Roland is a Sunday walk in the park after raising me."

"Gave him a bad time; did you?

"You have noticed? What little is left of his hair is gray. The rest of it just gave up and fell out. I am absolutely certain that was my fault."

"Not to hear your dad tell it."

"That's because he's always been merciful. He only talks about the good times. He never mentions the numerous times I let him down, broke his heart, or drove him half out of his mind with either worry or fear."

"That's because he believes in you. Just like Henry, Roland, and I do. He knew you could rise again - and you have."

Regina smiles. "Let's go home."

"I talked to Roland yesterday."

Regina nods. "I know – and?"

"I asked him if he wanted us to bring anything special home from our trip?"

"Ice cream?" Regina chuckles.

"Oh no. Henry has been taking him for ice cream a few times a week. He has something much more serious on his mind."

"He won't be five for another three months, Robin. That kid is the most serious preschooler I've ever met."

"He always has been. Even before he can talk. Smart, sweet, determined, and serious; very serious."

"You should've seen him on our wedding day; hiding behind Dad because he heard it was bad look for you to see the bride before the wedding… and 'he didn't want to make no bad luck." She quotes from memory. He was very frustrated with himself because he couldn't figure out how to manage his bow tie. He wanted it to be just right."

"That was because he didn't want anything to mess up our day."

Regina nods. "I called when we arrived in Barcelona. Daddy was laughing. He said Roland started taking of his suit off as soon as they got home - before the front door even closed behind him."

Robin chuckles. "He tolerated that suit for you."

"I know. What's on his mind now?"

"Apparently, he overheard your dad talking to Snow about some of what we learned while we were in the underworld. He doesn't understand all of what he heard. So, he wants to know where his sister is, and when she's coming home to live with him?"

Regina lifts her face to the sky and laughs aloud. "What did you tell him?"

"Over the phone? What could I tell him? Told him that we are working on it. He adamantly suggested that we hurry up!"

Still laughing, Regina winds an arm around his waist as he drops one his around her shoulders. "Well, if she's not on her way home already, it's not for lack of trying. Although, I don't suggest we tell him that. I have a feeling that would only lead to more questions. Questions that I'm not sure I'm ready to answer yet."

"Nor am I, but I think we better get ready. Whether we tell him that or not, I'm certain the questions are coming. He's much too smart for his own good."

 **Chapter 81: The Difference Between Mothers & Fathers**

Robin kills the engine in his wife's Mercedes. For a long moment, they sit in silence, each of them staring through the windshield at the house beyond.

At length, Robin says, "Home."

"Not anymore." Regina offers from the passenger seat. "It's official now. Home is an old apple barn out in the woods."

"Feel good?"

"It does – it also feels weird." She turns and offers him a smile that holds the barest hint of an apology.

"No, it's okay. I know exactly what you mean. It's a bit strange for me too. I'm thrilled but it's -"

"Weird." She offers again.

"This is going to be an adjustment, I'm rather use to doing things by myself."

"You? What about me?" Regina chuckles dryly. "You're talking to the queen of - doing it by yourself. I couldn't even wait to get married before getting myself a kid."

"That was just because you thought if you waited it would never happen."

She shrugs. "That's true enough. There aren't a lot of good men out there dying to get involved with an evil woman. And back then, I had no interest in being anything but an evil woman."

"You wanted to be somebody's mother."

"You don't have to be good to want to be somebody's mother. I think my own is proof of that. Hey, I was proof of that – for a long time." Depressed by her own thoughts, she shakes her head as if to scatter them to the wind. "Are we going in?"

"Sure, let's."

Robin gets out of the car and quick steps around to her side, offering his hand as they make their way up the front walk. Halfway there, they hear Big John's loud bark and Roland's young voice coming from the backyard. "Could you just wait a minute!"

The dog barks again.

"Okay, okay, I'll hurry!"

Curious, the adults leave the front wall and step around the side of the house. Craning their necks to see through by the backyard gate before they arrive, they observe Roland halfway up Regina's apple tree with the big dog sitting on the ground below and barking impatiently.

Far too high up in the tree for Regina's comfort, Roland reaches out, snags a bright red apple from a higher branch than the one he's standing on and tosses it down to the dog, who promptly bites the fruit in half and swallows without chewing.

Regina calls out, making their presence known. "Roland, sweet boy, don't do that. You might make Big John sick."

The small boy turns his head their direction and smiles radiantly. Full of excitement, he calls out, "Daddy, Regina, your home!" He lets go of the branch he's clinging to for support and waves. Or, at least that's what he tries to do. Instantly realizing his mistake, he squeals as he loses his balance and plummets for the ground below with both Regina and Robin charging in his direction.

Knowing they'll never make it in time, Regina lets go of Robin's hand and vanishes. Unseen, she slows Roland's fall, but his weight coupled with his rate of descent is enough to take her down as well. Roland appears to hover mere inches above the ground for the instant before she reappears with her arms around him and flattened; her body literally breaking his fall.

Panicked, Robin goes down on his knees beside them; touching them both, needing the solid feel of them.

"Bloody hell! Are you alright - both of you?"

Regina squints as she realizes that more than one person asked the question. Roland is stunned silent for a mere instant as she looks around. The question has come from both Robin and Hook. However, it was Hook who added the expletive that preceded the question.

Regina sits up, feeling slightly dazed, as people begin to exit her kitchen courtesy of the open back door and Roland begins to giggle as she touches him, patting him down, frantically searching for any sign of injury.

Snow and Emma call out respectively, "Is he hurt? Is he okay?"

David suggests, "Careful, don't move him." As the giggling boy releases the last bits of fear, finds his voice, and cheers, "Again, Regina again!"

Realizing he's perfectly unharmed, Regina groans in relief and hugs him close, kissing the top of his head before she says in a very stern voice, "No! We most certainly are not going to do that again! Torn between her relief for his safety, and anger born of adrenaline and fear, she gruffly tightens her hold as she scolds. "Roland, you could have been killed! What were you thinking?"

Unaccustomed to being scolded by her, Roland shrugs; suddenly looking smaller and meeker than he is. "I wanted an apple." He whispers. "I can have one whenever I want… You said."

"Roland…" She makes an effort to soften her voice. "You can have an apple whenever you want. But there is more than one bowlful of apples in that house." She points over her shoulder. There is no need for you to climb this tree."

"The ones still on the tree taste better. Besides, I only fell because I let go. It was dumb. I didn't mean to be dumb. I was just happy because you're here. Mr. Henry said you wouldn't be home until the day after tomorrow." He turns to his father who musses his hair affectionately. "How come you're back already?"

"We missed you." Robin says, and then, making eye contact with Regina's son, he adds, "We missed you both. And you…" he turns his attention back to his own son. "You got lucky Mi' boy! If Regina hadn't been so fast, you'd be bruised and broken. If you just have to climb a tree -"

"I know Dad. I know. Hang on with both hands – always."

Regina scowls and Robin offers her a knowing smile before he lifts his son to his feet.

"How come apples might make him sick?" Roland points to his dog.

"A piece of apple won't hurt him, Roland." Regina explains patiently. "But you shouldn't give him the whole apple. Apple seeds are bad for dogs. They might make him sick if he eats too many of them. If you want to share with him, that's okay. Just make sure you give Big John a piece that has no seeds in it from now on, alright?"

"Alright – am I in trouble?"

"No, if Dad says that climbing trees is okay, it's okay. Just – from now on, both hands please! Next time, I might not be here to catch you and, if you got hurt, that would make me really sad."

"Okay." He hugs her zealously. "Are we going home to our house now?"

"In a little while, your daddy and I would like to say hello to all these people first."

"Well, did you have a good time on the big boat?"

Regina chuckles. "Yes, we had a very nice time on the big boat.

Roland declares, "That's good!" as his father raises a curious eyebrow.

"She didn't tell me about the cruise until after we had already boarded the plane to Barcelona. How do you know about it, lad?"

Roland giggles. "Regina told me." He shrugs matter-of-factly. "She told me not to tell. It was a secret. Was it a good surprise, Daddy?

"The best, and you did a fine job keeping her secret, especially considering that you blab all of mine."

"I do not Daddy. You do! You tell Little John. He blabs; not me!"

Robin acquiesces with a nod, knowing the truth when he hears it. "Go collect your things so that when we get ready to leave, you'll have them ready to go."

"Okay!" Roland jets away with enthusiasm.

Only when he disappears inside the house and is completely out of hearing range does Robin turns to his wife. "Where are you hurt?"

"How do you know I'm hurt?"

"Because, you're still sitting on the ground. You hadn't moved?"

"I twisted my ankle when I went down. I'm not sure how bad it is just yet."

She turns to the others who remain waiting. "What? You all had to wait until I left town before you could have a party in my house?"

Snow laughs. "We aren't having a party. Just visiting."

Robin eases his wife to her feet. As she begins to limp; favoring her left foot; Emma steps toward her, ready to offer assistance which she waves away as she hugs her own son and affectionately runs her fingers through his hair. "You need a haircut." She says quietly as she smiles.

"Yeah, I know." Henry replies easily as Emma inquires with a gesture toward her ankle, "You don't want me to patch that up?"

"No. I would feel differently if it was life threatening. It hurts, and it's going to be a nuisance for a few weeks, but it's minor. It's not broken. If it were, I wouldn't be able to walk on it at all. It's just twisted – a bad sprain. I don't want to teach Roland that all our problems can be solved with magic. I certainly don't want to teach him to rely on it for mending minor wounds. That might encourage him to become a daredevil." Pointedly she adds, "Since telling him not to climb trees is obviously out of the question - "

Robin chuckles. "I did not say it was out of the question. It's just a waste of good breath. He was born in a forest. You aren't going to stop him from climbing trees. Especially not trees that bear fruit. He's been doing it since he learned to walk. He learned to climb before he could run. You'll have better luck controlling the tides. It's best just to encourage him to do it as safely as possible. Pick your battles."

Regina nods but scowls. Noticing this, her father chuckles. "I imagine you'd have as much success telling Roland not to climb trees as I had telling you not to jump horses."

His daughter searches his face with a look of uncertainty in her eyes. "I don't remember you telling me not to jump horses."

Henry laughs. "Of course, you don't. You never heard me. You didn't want to. In the end, I decided that if I couldn't stop you from doing it - at least not without making you miserable - I would help you do it as safely as possible. That's why I got you riding lessons – much to your mother's disapproval."

"Okay, point taken. Can we go inside now? I need some ice for my ankle."

"Of course, dear. Welcome home."

 **Chapter 82: The Stranger in Town**

"Will you please sit down. I can get that for you."

Regina rolls her eyes. "Snow, what are you doing here in the middle of the afternoon? Don't you have a baby to take care of?"

"Neal's fine. I dropped him off at that the police station to visit with his daddy."

Regina groans. "Snow, he's the sheriff. He's supposed to be busy upholding the law while he's at work – not changing diapers."

"I won't be here long. But, I promised Robin I would stop by and check on you since he had to work today, and your dad is out with Marco."

"I should have known. I love him, but that man is driving me crazy, I swear, the way he acts you would think I'm terminally ill with some hideously aggressive form of cancer. I twisted my ankle! I am not dying! I can fix my own cup damn cup of tea."

"But why should you when I'm here to do it for you. Go sit down, prop that ankle back up." When Regina growls in response Snow adds, "The more you rest, the sooner it will heal, and the sooner Robin will relax and stop watching over you like a hawk. That also means he'll stop asking me to be his proxy when he has to go to work."

Wishing she hadn't promised Robin she would stop throwing firewalls in the house, Regina growls again and half stomps, half limps, back to the sofa and the boring television waiting for her in the living room.

Ten minutes later Snow supplies her with a steaming cup of Earl Grey and a dessert plate with a healthy medley of fruits and veggies along with cream cheese and crackers.

"Thank you." She offers irritably.

"It's no trouble at all, Regina." She carefully retrieves the pillow from beneath Regina's ankle, plumps it. and puts it gently back in place before helping herself to a soft cashmere throw blanket draped over the back of the nearest chair. She sets about spreading it over Regina's lap until the older woman glowers; at which point she smiles agreeably and backs off. "You really make a lousy patient. Anybody ever tell you that?"

"No one needs to tell me. I'm aware. The situation would be better if you all would stop overreacting. That is what gets on my nerves. I sprained my ankle for God's sake. I don't have the flu. I'm not cold. And I don't need to be tucked in like I'm six years old. You don't need to worry so much. Just because I feel well enough to fix my own lunch does not mean I'm about to go out and attempt to run a marathon."

Snow chuckles. "I hope not! If you tried that right now, Robin would have a heart attack."

"Don't I know it."

"He loves you. Let him fuss a little, even if you don't need it. Every time you two find yourself in some potentially dangerous situation where magic is involved, he has no choice but to rely on you to protect yourself for the most part. A bow and arrow, while handy to have about, doesn't offer much protection against magic. Now you're hurt, and worse, you got hurt protecting his son. Just let him do what little he can to help you heal."

Regina frowns thoughtfully and is silent for a weighted moment before asking quietly, "You think he feels powerless?"

"Well, he hasn't said so, but I imagine there are times when he must, yes. Living life in your company has certainly made me feel powerless a time or two – and not just because we used to be a war with one another. Even now, it's a bit daunting sometimes; being in the presence of someone capable of welding such tremendous power. It can make us non-magical folks feel pretty ineffectual."

"But you shouldn't. The way you inspire people, the way you spread hope – I could never do that. And Robin – he's the last person I'd ever want to feel that way. He's the most courageous man I know. It's hard – almost impossible - to open yourself up to love again after losing it the way we have, but to love me? Neither of you is powerless. You just have a different kind of power."

Snow nods. "Yes, we do. It's just that, in your presence, it's easy to forget that."

"Well, I'm not about to play the damsel in distress, but if you really think waiting on me hand and foot is somehow going to make him feel more in control, then I suppose I could stop complaining - as much."

"Just let him do what he can."

Regina chuckles and points to the spiral staircase in the center of the great room. "Within reason. He tried to carry me up the stairs last night. Those stairs. All of them. He's going to hurt himself trying to take care of me."

Snow smiles. "That's not annoying, Regina. It shouldn't be. That's sweet!"

"How sweet is it going to be when he throws his back out of alignment? Who's going to take care of us then?"

"Oh stop! It's not as if you weigh 300 pounds."

"Thank God."'

"You're just not used to having people do things for you anymore."

"I know, but if I'm going to try to relent a little – not be so stubborn…"

"What?"

"Roland's awfully quiet in the backyard. Poke your head out the door and check on him for me. As long as you can see him, he's good."

Nodding agreeably, Snow walks to the kitchen and returns momentarily to peer beyond the drapes that cover one of the living rooms windows. "Oh, okay, he's moved to the front, and it looks like Henry is back from Emma's." She smiles warmly for a flicker in time as she waves to the two boys through the window and then something shifts, and her smile becomes forced and brittle.

Sitting up a little straighter on the sofa, Regina queries, "Snow?" When there is no immediate response, she sets her food tray aside and tosses away the blanket over her lap. "Snow, what is it?"

"What is he doing here?" Snow mutters more to herself than to Regina.

"Who?" Regina demands and then struggles to her feet as Henry's grandmother goes as pale as the winter precipitation she's named for.

Without comment, Snow throws an alarming look over her shoulder as she hurries to, and then out of the front door.

Even though she's seriously favoring her left ankle, Regina is by her side in record time courtesy of the shot of adrenaline that races through, and warms, her blood when she hears the harsh note of warning in Snow's usually gentle voice. "Henry, Roland, come here right now!"

The two women walk with deliberation and purpose in their stride despite Regina's limp as they approach the boys who are obviously in conversation with someone Regina has never seen before. Taking her cue from the unmistakable alarm in Snow's eyes, Regina squints at the wizened old man at the end of the drive with a hostility born of suspicion. When the boys are near enough to touch, she pointedly steps in front of them, putting herself between them and the stranger.

She demands, "Who are you, and why are you talking to my sons?"

In the same instant, Snow queries warily, "What are you doing here?"

Regina's suspicion is not soothed in the slightest - in fact, it is only elevated - when the unfamiliar old man pats the air as if to suggest they should calm down and says. "Everything is alright Regina. You need not be alarmed. I mean no harm to Henry and Roland. Hello, Snow."

Snow nods a terse and silent greeting as, without taking her eyes off the man, Regina says with forced calm, "Henry, take Roland into the house."

"But Mom wait…"

"Henry, I said, take your little brother inside – now!"

Knowing it's pointless to argue, Henry takes the small boy by the hand. "C'mon Ro, let's go have a snack."

He trails away with an odd mix of curiosity and concern. He notices, but doesn't really process, that while Roland looks equally curious, for some reason the small boy is grinning ear to ear; his dark eyes shining as if he's just experienced Christmas, Easter, and the tooth fairy all at once.

Regina waits until the front door closes behind the boys and then turns her hard, ominous, gaze back to the stranger. "We don't get visitors in this town. l want to know who you are, how the hell you know my name, not to mention the names of my children, and I want to know why you were talking to them. You have three seconds to answer and convince me that you should be allowed to continue to breathe."

"He's the sorcerer's apprentice."

Regina squints and demands as the old man nods in response to Snow's comment. "Who's apprentice? What sorcerer?"

Snow stammers. "He's the one who helped us transfer Emma's darkness. I mean, we asked him to do it. That was on us. But, he's the one."

"And, now you're here talking to my children?" Regina shakes her head and conjures a fireball of menacing proportion. Holding it at the ready, she continues, "I don't know why you would want to talk my boys but, whatever you're thinking, you'd better think again."

"There's no need for hostility, and certainly none for violence. I mean no harm. Your children are safe. I've come to talk with both you and Henry."

Approaching on foot, Robin takes in the unexpected sight at the end of his driveway, drops his knapsack and readies his bow without ever breaking stride. He's ten feet directly behind the stranger with his arrow pointed squarely at the man's heart before he makes his presence known. "Is there a problem here."

The apprentice turns and frowns. "You three are quite the unwelcoming committee."

Addressing her husband without taking her eyes off the newcomer, Regina explains. "Snow looked out the window and saw him talking to the boys. He's new to Storybrooke, he does not live here, and Snow says he's the one who put Emma's darkness into Lily."

Robin draws his bow a little tighter and moves around to look the stranger in the eye. "And you thought you'd just show up in a town that's magically cloaked, hidden away from the rest of this world, and talk to two young boys? My boys?" Mister, you've got five seconds to explain yourself. After that, if I don't get you, my wife will."

"I've come to talk with you about Henry's future."

Regina hisses. "He's thirteen. The only future he needs to worry about right now is what's happening on Saturday nights and maybe, just maybe, he needs to start thinking about what college to get into."

The old wizard shakes his head. "Henry has a destiny awaiting him, and the path that will lead him to it begins here, begins now."

Regina shakes her head. "Even if he does have a destiny, even if that journey begins today, Henry is only a boy, you should have begun by talking to me; not him. Furthermore, I have to tell you, that my mother began spouting that same nonsense at me so early in life that I can't ever remember her not talking about it. 'Regina, you have a destiny to fulfill." She mimics her mother hotly. "I was a child. She applied unbearable pressure until she turned me dark, all in the name of destiny. I will not let you do that to my son!"

The apprentice shakes his head. "Cora wasn't trying to fulfill your destiny, Regina. She was trying to claim one for herself through you, and I'm quite certain you know that's the truth. No harm will come to Henry by my hand. He has nothing to worry about. Not from me."

"Good, because he's a teenager. The only things he needs to worry about are acne, and whether or not the girl who sits next to him in physics class likes him."

"Perhaps we could all go inside. Sit down, have a nice civilized conversation." The old man says hopefully.

Regina glares at him as she extinguishes the fireball in her hand. "Perhaps we can all sit on the back porch and talk. I haven't made up my mind about you just yet, and until I do, you will not be welcome in the house where my sons live."

She turns her gaze to Snow, simply because she knows the man is squarely in Robin's site. "I've never transported anyone independently. I've always been with the person when I do it, but I saw Cora do it in the underworld, and I'm fairly certain I know how it's done. If we're going to discuss Henry's future, Emma should be here too. Are you comfortable with me sending you? If not, it's okay. We'll just wait for you to get back with her."

Snow gives it a moment's thought and then nods, spreading her arms in a welcoming fashion before she quickly adds. "She's not at her house. She's probably with her dad by now. She called the police station while I was dropping Neal off to say she would be on her way there as soon as Henry left her house."

Regina nods and waves goodbye with a flourish. Snow disappears from sight amidst Regina's customary swirling cloud of royal purple smoke with her voice trailing behind her. "We'll be right back."

 **Chapter 83: Regina's Boys**

"Just wait a minute!" Emma scowls. "You're telling me my son is supposed to be the new – author?"

The apprentice nods. "Yes, it's fated." The older man looks around at the unreceptive, doubtful looks on the faces of the adults surrounding him. "Perhaps I haven't stated something clearly. This seems to be a problem."

"Oh, you bet it's a problem!" Regina's laughter is harsh and brittle.

Emma squints in surprise that, for once, she and Regina are in complete agreement with one another – no discussion required.

The old wizard raises an eyebrow and declares, "I don't understand. It's not as if I've just announced that the boy is supposed to be the next Dark One."

In unison, all three women snap, "He is not 'the boy.' His name is Henry!"

"Furthermore…" Snow folds her arms in front of her chest as she adds. "We know next to nothing about you. Except that you put Emma's darkness into another child." She gestures between herself and her husband. "David and I asked for that. I'm not trying to negate our own culpability in that. It's just that, it's a decision we've come to regret – and you're the one who did it. Now you show up here, in a town hidden away from the rest of this world, and you just unilaterally make a proclamation regarding who my grandson is supposed to be. My daughter has a problem with that because she spent her entire childhood without parents telling her anything about who she was, much less who she was supposed to be. Regina has a problem with that because she spent her entire childhood with a parent telling her exactly who she was supposed to be; without regard for her own desires; holding her to an impossible standard and then punishing her terribly if she didn't meet that standard. My husband and I have a problem with it because he's our grandson and you've already shown us that in certain instances you are willing to participate in the injury of one child, if it benefits another. How are we - how are any of us standing here - supposed to trust you with Henry's welfare?"

The apprentice sighs quietly. "This is going to be even tougher than I thought it would."

Robin clears his throat. "I think the ladies would feel better about it if you had talked to them first. Any one of them, instead of approaching Henry first."

"That was my mistake. I apologize. Once again, let me assure you, I mean no harm."

Before anything further can be said, the back door of the barn opens and young Henry approaches with mild uncertainty until all three women speak at once. "Henry, go back inside."

The young boy stops where he stands and shifts his gaze from one to the other. "I get that you guys are just trying to protect me, but if he's here to talk about my future - don't you think maybe I should be here?"

The old man's eyes widen while Henry doesn't seem the least bit surprised when all three women declare in harmony "No!"

Robin and David exchange a quiet look before offering. "Actually… That's not a bad suggestion."

When Regina, Emma, and Snow all repeat, "No!" for the second time Henry turns his gaze to Regina – the one he knows will be the hardest to convince. "It's not like you guys are going to let anything happen to me. I know that. I trust in that. Just let me talk him. Just for a minute. Please Mom."

With every wretched argument she's ever had with her mother echoing in her ears; a searing kaleidoscope of dark memories replaying in her mind, Regina stares at her son.

Henry stares back, waiting patiently.

For several long seconds, no one moves, no one breathes. Then, a quiet but shocked gasp escapes Emma when, at long last, Regina offers the slightest of nods.

"Any chance I can talk to him alone, without the three of you glaring at him?"

Regina simply raises an eyebrow.

"Didn't think so." Henry shrugs and turns to face his visitor. "You think I'm supposed to be the next author?"

"I don't just think it, Henry. I know it."

"Why should I believe you? Just because you say so? No offense mister but, I don't know you and, even if I did, that's not a good enough reason to do anything."

Catching sight of the quiet flash of approval in Regina's eyes, Robin moves around to his wife's side. "Go in the house." He whispers quietly, for her ears only. "David and I won't let anything happen to him."

Robin watches her heated objection take form in her eyes before it suddenly dies on her lips. Still, she's silent for a long hesitant beat before she motions for Snow and Emma to follow her into the house as she issues a dark promise. "if anything happens to my son – I mean so much as one hair out of place on his head – if you so much as make him unhappy, I will destroy you, old man!"

The apprentice nods dolefully as Regina ushers the woman inside. She closes the back door with deliberation as Emma takes up a post at a kitchen window.

"What are we doing in here while Henry's out there with some wizard who likes to play Russian roulette with the darkness inside kids?"

Snow smiles with forced patience. "Emma, give Regina a break. She's trying to do the right thing."

"You call leaving him out there with arrows and bullets as his only protection against magic the right thing?" She queries with unmistakable accusation in her voice.

Regina glares. "I left him out there with Robin and your father. Robin not only married me, he has trusted me with Roland's safety more times than I can count. Do you have any idea what that's worth?"

"I'm sure is worth quite a lot, but at this moment I really don't care, Regina."

"Well, you should."

"I would just feel a whole lot better if they were a little more evenly matched. If Roland gets into some kind of trouble, you have the ability to hurl massive fireballs at whoever or whatever threatens him. Dad and Robin can't do that, Regina."

"No, but either one of them will protect Henry with their life, and you know it. Emma, he lives in Storybrooke. This is not the last wizard he's ever going to encounter - and you know that too. We have to prepare him. Besides… As much as that man scares me… Henry's right, the two of them aren't going to be able to talk freely with us standing guard like three hostile mother bears. If I don't let Henry pursue his own path, find his own destiny – whether it's what that old man says it is, or something entirely different, then how am I any different from Cora? Emma, I can't choose his life for him. Well, I can. But I shouldn't. I won't."

"Okay, I get it, but do we have to leave him out there?"

"I think you should. I think Regina's right." Snow offers softly.

Emma scowls comically. "You're my mother. Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

"Oh, Emma, I'm always on your side. It's just, at the moment, I'm also on Henry's side. And, no matter which side I'm on, Regina's still right. Henry's a non-magical boy living in a very magical world. He's going to have to learn to cope, and for what it's worth, so far, I think he's done a fantastic job. He's got good instincts. If he's going to learn to trust them, then we have to trust them."

Regina nods. "Henry loves his storybook. I think, most other boys his age would've given it up by now. Maybe this is the reason he hasn't. Not only that, but it's not as if this wizard is the first person to ever spout a prophecy where Henry is concerned. That seer Gold encountered during the ogre wars told him that Henry would be his undoing. I've told you this before Emma. You can't practice magic while looking down your nose at it. It's dangerous. Either you believe, or you don't. You can't straddle the fence."

Emma rolls her eyes. "I crossed over a long time ago, Regina. I am now firmly entrenched in the believer's camp. Besides, the situation with Gold has come to pass already."

"Has it?" Regina counters. Rumpelstiltskin is still here. He's still the Dark One. How do we know that at some point in the future he and Henry won't find themselves at odds again?"

"Oh God! You don't really think that's going to happen?"

Regina shrugs and shakes her head with uncertainty. "I can't believe in my own magical power and refuse to believe in someone else's. It's just…"

Emma nods. "I know, I know, it's dangerous."

Regina nods again. "Every cell in my body is screaming to go out there and send that old man straight back to wherever the hell he came from, Emma, but Henry wants to talk to him. He needs to. Robin won't take his eyes off him – not for a second."

"Neither will your dad, honey."

"is Henry in trouble?"

Regina turns suddenly to find Roland standing in the archway between the kitchen and the great room with a juice box in his hand and a worried expression on his face. She quickly scoops the boy up into her arms. "Hey you!" She smiles warmly. "It's not very gentlemanly to eavesdrop."

Roland raises an eyebrow and scowls. "I didn't mean to." He holds up his juice box for her inspection. "The stupid straw won't go in." He jabs the flimsy straw against the box top with his small hands to demonstrate.

Regina settles him momentarily on the kitchen counter. "Ah, I can fix that for you." As she does so, she tells him, "No, Henry's not in trouble. Everything's alright. We just don't know that man he's outside talking with. We're just being careful. Did Henry get you a snack to munch on?"

Roland nods emphatically. "He gave me half his tuna sandwich and some little carrots. They're waiting for me by the TV. I'm watching the minions movie."

Regina shakes her head. "Again? Daddy said you watched that movie at least two dozen times while your dad and I were gone on our honeymoon."

Roland giggles as she sets his feet gently on the floor and hands him his juice box with the straw properly inserted. "I like the little guy who's always talking about bananas. He's funny."

"Okay, go watch."

The small boy hugs her quickly before he returns to his movie and his snack on winged feet.

"Well…" Snow smiles. "He's certainly settled right in. I guess he likes having a stepmom."

Regina shrugs and offers the slightest of smiles. "So far, so good. He misses his tent in the woods, but he likes his room, his dog, and he is still supremely fascinated by bathtubs with hot running water. He doesn't like food cooked inside as much as he likes food cooked outside over a fire, but he loves story time before bed at night."

Snow laughs. "You're doing it with him too?"

Regina shimmies her hand side to side. "Sort of. That was my intent the first night I tried. Turned out a bit differently though. I tuck him in. He tells me the story. And, the stuff he comes up with! It's all little boy fantasy that's been very heavily influenced by his life with the merry men. Wild tales of full grown men playing silly pranks on one another, forest animals, talking trees, limericks and campfire shanties. He's adorable! And he's taken to following Henry around like an eager puppy. He's trying to give Henry archery lessons. As playful and as free spirited as he can be, he's very serious about that! You should've heard him yesterday afternoon. "No, Henry, you're holding it wrong. If you shoot like that you're gonna hurt yourself! Don't point the arrow at the house! And don't never, ever, ever point it at anything that's breathing unless you're really super sure you mean for it to stop breathing.

Snow tilts her head to one side thoughtfully. "if I were going to take archery lessons from a preschooler, I don't think I could find one better suited. Clearly, he's been taught to respect weapons."

"In return, Henry's teaching him to read comic books and how to look for and recognizes the constellations when the stars come out at night. I keep looking for telltale signs of sibling rivalry, or anything like it. Anything that says they aren't adjusting as well as I think. So far, nothing."

Snow shakes her head. "There's too much of an age gap between them. They are a lot less likely to squabble over things with each other than Roland will be with the next member of the family who arrives. When that happens, he won't be the baby anymore. I'm guessing that will be the bigger adjustment."

Regina nods reflexively. "I'm hoping that particular adjustment won't be too hard for him. Apparently, he overheard you and Daddy talking about his sister at some point in the recent past. We hadn't even made it home from our honeymoon before Roland was asking Robin via telephone exactly where his sister is and why she doesn't live with him yet."

"Goodness! He hears everything; doesn't he?"

"Pretty close to it! What he doesn't hear firsthand, he figures out. I don't think he does it deliberately, but he does eavesdrop. He's going to be the family snoop!"

Snow smiles. "I used to snoop around listening to my parent's conversations when they thought I was otherwise occupied. Only, I did it on purpose."

"I would've been bored silly had I tried to entertain myself that way. Mother would have rather gone to the dentist for a root canal than to sit and have a conversation with my father about… About anything. Speaking of snooping…" Regina turns her attention back to the window where Emma still stands. "What's going on out there?"

Emma lifts one shoulder in a shrug. "Robin and Dad look like stone-faced sentries, standing guard. Henry and the old guy are still talking. He looks okay, but if he doesn't come in soon, I'm going back out there."

Snow carefully studies Regina's face briefly before she chuckles quietly and informs her daughter, "When you do, you won't be alone. Regina has let me distract her for just about as long as she's going to."

 **Chapter 84: Rabbit Holes**

Henry Mills opens the back door of the barn and walks in to find his daughter's kitchen full of familiar faces. Quickly scanning the room, his eyes find his daughter's. "What have I missed."

Busy at the kitchen counter, Regina looks up offering him a smile. "Quite a lot. Come on in. You want tea or coffee?"

Henry glances at the mugs his daughter is already in the process of preparing and chooses to keep things simple. "Coffee's fine."

Before Regina can respond, Robin drops a light kiss on her cheek and quietly lets her know, "I'm going to go check on Roland."

As he backs out of the room, she nods, and David politely slips passed her father in the doorway with the apprentice following close behind him.

Glancing back over his shoulder, Storybrooke's charming prince makes eye contact with his wife as he tells everyone in the room. "I'm going to take him over to Granny's place and get him settled into a room until a decision can be made."

"You really don't have to stay, sir." Regina's son speaks up, adding his own voice to the conversation. "I won't change my mind."

Henry, Sr. turns his gaze to the one unfamiliar person in the room. The old man is dressed in clothes better suited for the Enchanted Forest than Storybrooke.

"I'll stay long enough to give you the chance to reconsider."

Young Henry shrugs. "If you want."

Regina pats her father's shoulder in response to the curiosity that lights up his eyes. "Did you have a nice visit with Marco today."

Henry nods as she hands him his favorite dark bold brew; steam rising from the top of his large, heavy, clay mug. "I did. But never mind that for now." He takes his usual seat at the head of the kitchen table and observes quietly, preferring to catch up on whatever he's obviously missed by simply allowing the moment to play itself out rather than interrupting with questions.

Regina opens her mouth to offer some explanation and then snaps it shut again, knowing it's not what her father wants or needs even before he waves dismissively.

As David and the apprentice leave through her back door, she hands her son a mug of his preferred cocoa with a dash of cinnamon and pulls out a chair for him, encouraging him to sit down beside his grandfather. Emma and Snow follow, joining in without need of invitation.

Regina makes eye contact with them all briefly before turning her full attention to her son. "Are you sure you really don't want to do this?" She points to the storybook in the center of the kitchen table. "You love that book. It's been a part of your life for more than three years. This could be a chance for you to actually contribute to it."

Drawn to it, Henry reaches for the book out of habit and then, catching himself, he pulls away; recoiling as if he's now repulsed by, or somehow afraid of, the book he once treasured. Shaking his head, he looks at Emma somberly for a long moment; the intensity of his gaze enough to unsettle her before he turns his eyes back to Regina. "The chance to be the author, the chance to actually record our story… That would be awesome."

They all watch as his eyes light up with a wonder just briefly before something shifts and he pauses for another awkward moment and then, adamantly shakes his head again.

Studying him, Regina squints. "What's wrong Henry?"

The young man points. "That book is magic. Or, at least, it's written with magic. I used to think having a little for myself would be nice."

"Not anymore?"

"Sure, sometimes. But, I think I've seen too much." He makes deliberate eye contact with his mother. "There's too much potential for darkness."

Regina tilts her head to one side. "There's just as much potential for light – don't you think?"

She watches her son nod and then shrug listlessly.

"Henry?" She starts softly, choosing her words even as she speaks them. "Henry, magic is… It's like technology. It's neither bad nor good. Not until we choose. It's what we choose to do with it that makes it bad or good."

He nods, agreeing with his mother wholeheartedly. "Yeah, and I watch you struggle with that every single day. Mom, I don't think I can do that. You're stronger than me."

The sudden burst of laughter that escapes Regina surprises them all. "Oh Henry!" She reaches over and gently squeezes his hand. "Sweetheart, you are the strongest person in this room… And you are the best of us all. You can do this." She nods encouragement. "If you want it."

"And if I don't?"

"If you really don't want it…" Regina shrugs. "Don't do it."

"The apprentice says its destiny."

"Who cares what that old man says. If - you really don't want it. Don't do it. It's that simple. – sweetheart, if you do – that's okay too. You can do this."

Henry stubbornly shakes his head. "It'll cost too much."

Regina squints. "What are you talking about?"

"While I was busy snooping around his shop, looking for a way to find the author, Grandpa kept telling me over and over again that magic always comes with a price – like I haven't seen enough of that for myself first hand." Henry pauses again long enough to pass another unsettling look in Emma's direction. "I've already watched one mom fight her way back from darkness. I've watched you claw your way into the light, and you fight like hell just to stay there, Mom. I really don't want to watch the other one fight the same fight – especially not because of me."

At a loss, Regina shakes her head.

"The apprentice made it sound like it would be so easy at first, but I kept hearing Grandpa's voice in my head. 'Magic always comes with a price.' So, I asked him what it was going to cost me. He wouldn't really tell me at first. He was cryptic. 'Anything worth having always comes at a cost, Henry, but I'm confident you will prevail.' I pressed him harder. If he knows I'm supposed to write this book, then he knows the rest of it too. He didn't want to tell me. He didn't want me to say no. I made him tell me. You can't just pick up any old pen to write in that book. It has to have special ink…"

Regina nods as he finishes. "Ink that has to be charged with the savior's dark potential." Henry shakes his head adamantly. "No way! I am not going to turn my mother dark just, so I can fulfill some destiny that some old man who I've never met before today says is mine. He can just go take a… Wait! You're nodding. Why are you nodding? You knew?"

Regina nods again. "I didn't know the pen would be passed to you. I wasn't going to tell you about the rest of it. I've just been trying to stop it from happening."

Emma squints and then laughs dryly. "Stop what from happening? Me going dark?"

Regina shrugs and nods for a third time. "It was originally my idea to find the author. I wanted him to change my story. Gold picked up on it and decided to claim the idea for himself. He wants his own happy ending. Why do you think he was pushing so hard for you to go after Lily? First, he was hoping that when Cruella threatened Henry, that would do the trick. The fact that she couldn't hurt him was a moot point. You believed, at the time, that she could; and it almost worked. Killing her nearly pushed you over the edge. When it didn't work, that's when he started pushing you toward Lily. You were still unstable after dealing with Cruella. He used that to his advantage. He knew that when you and Lily met up again, and there'd be a confrontation."

"You stopped me."

"Yes, but I didn't do that to spite Gold – though, that would've been enough of a reason. That night on the way back to Storybrooke, I told Lily that I did it for you, Emma. That wasn't a lie. It was for you, but I had my own reasons too. Well, one reason - one reason that outweighed all the reasons I had for wanting the ink charged myself."

"Me." Henry says with quiet certainty.

"Of course. You. I'm not going to let anybody hurt you Henry. Not now, not ever. But still, I can't believe there's not part of you that doesn't want to do this."

Henry shakes his head. "Not if that's what it costs." He points at Emma. "Besides, if she goes dark, you two are gonna start fighting again. Nobody here wants that. Least of all me."

Regina laughs quietly. You can relax, Henry. I know how to get what you need without defiling your mother."

Henry's eyes go wide. "You know how to charge the ink? Without…"

"Yes, I do. If that's what you want. Don't do it just because some strange old man says you're supposed to. But, Henry, if you want to…"

"How? No! Wait! If you know how to, then why haven't you done it already? Or have you? Because Mom, the apprentice said no one is supposed to change the stories. They are just supposed to be recorded - as they are. That's why Isaac got into trouble. He was changing the stories. That's why he was locked in the book. We let him out. We weren't supposed to. Now the apprentice has to strip him of his pen. He couldn't do it before. Isaac's successor hadn't been born yet."

Realizing that he's talking about himself, Henry squints and gives his head a hard shake.

Snow smiles and reaches over from her place at the table and pats her grandson on the shoulder. "You okay, Henry?"

"Yeah Grandma. I'm okay. I just feel like I've gone down one of those intellectual magical rabbit holes that will make your brain bleed if you think about it too much."

Henry, Sr. chuckles softly as Regina gets up from the table and wraps her son in a warm embrace from behind. She kisses the top of his head. "Welcome to my world! Rumpelstiltskin used to take me down those rabbit holes on a regular basis – back when he was training me. Every once in a while, I still find myself spiraling down one, in the dark, headfirst, with no brakes. Every time I think about the fact that he needed me to cast that damn curse so he could come here to find the son he lost… the son who would eventually grow up to be your father – and you would be born to a mother who never would've been here if I hadn't the cast the curse… Regina shakes her head; the expression on her face perfectly mimicking the one on her son's only a moment before.

Emma smiles wryly and offers up, "Round and down the rabbit hole we go. Where it stops, the gods only know."

"Ugh! Mom, don't say that. That's worse than a potential brain bleed. That makes me feel like a hamster caught on one of those stupid exercise wheels, spinning around and around going nowhere. If that's the way it is, then there's no point arguing with destiny. It's hopeless! That means we're just trapped; doomed to a fate we can't possibly understand or unravel."

"No! We are not!" Regina declares in defiance. "You certainly aren't, Henry. I refuse to believe it! It's not hopeless."

For a second, Henry can't help but stare in her incredulously.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Henry grins. "Don't look now Mom, but I think Grandma is starting to rub off on you!"

Regina squints, and then, catching on, she rolls her eyes and reminds them all of the darkness within her. "Even though I didn't use it, I've still found a way to charge that ink. I've used as an insurance policy to keep Zelena from meddling in my life any more than she already has. I could have had her written right out of that book. I almost did."

Henry looks up at his mother. "You did? What stopped you?"

She did. She said I was acting just like Cora. And, she was right. Zelena's existence created a problem for Cora. Mother's solution was simply to get rid of her. I almost did the same thing. I figured, if she were never born at all, she couldn't interfere with me and Robin. But after she said that…" Regina shrugs. "I still wanted her gone but barring that possibility – I guess I just decided to write my own story instead of trying to force someone else to do it for me. I started out trying to find the author because I didn't think I could make that happen any other way. Because I felt trapped, just like that hamster on that stupid exercise wheel. I can't say the writing her out of existence wouldn't have been easier. It would. But, somehow, if I had, I don't think I would've wound up here." She gestures to the room around her. "Even if I had, I don't think being here would feel half as good as it does."

Snow raises an eyebrow. "Does that mean – that you've finally gotten to a place where doing the right thing actually feels good?"

Regina laughs drolly. "Not always, Snow. Sometimes, I still want a choke the life out of her. Sometimes absolutely nothing would feel better than my hands wrapped around her throat. She still annoys that hell out of me! It just means that she can annoy me, and I can still choose to happy. And if she doesn't like it – well, that's just too damn bad!"

Feeling his spirits rise, Henry inquires, and you can charge the ink? Without…" He gestures toward Emma.

"I can." She picks up the book of the middle of the table. "I will. If this is what you want."

Henry scowls. "I don't know, Mom. What aren't you telling me? What do you have to do?"

"Talk of discontented dragon into giving a few drops of her blood."

When the eyes of every other person in the room go wide, Regina lifts one shoulder in a lazy shrug. "What? It shouldn't be too hard."

 **Chapter 85: Old Enemies**

Less than an hour after her chat with her son, Regina stands on Maleficent's front porch, squares her shoulders, and forces herself past the point of no return when she lifts the heavy iron door knocker. She really doesn't want to tell Maleficent and Lily that the apprentice is in town. Doing that is likely to cause an uproar which will only make more work for her as mayor. However, she has too many things to do today to waste time trying to devise a plan involving subterfuge. Maleficent will be angry, but she can no longer assume dragon form. Plus, she's never been stupid. Clinically depressed, yes. Stupid, no. It's unlikely that she would be brazen enough or foolish enough to take on an aged old wizard like the apprentice. Her hotheaded daughter – well, that's another matter entirely.

Inwardly, Regina groans as Maleficent opens the door with the light of surprise visible in her eyes. The newlywed queen really doesn't have any inclination to do battle with an angry dragon today much less clean up the fallout from such a battle, but it's too late to turn and walk away now.

"Regina. What an unexpected surprise." Maleficent declares as she removes her reading glasses and tucks one arm of the wire rim spectacles into the right hip pocket of her tailored trousers; leaving them within easy reach.

"Hi Mal."

"Hello Regina. What brings you by."

"I need your help with something."

Unexpressed laughter rises and dies on the back of Maleficent's throat. "Goodness, that's intriguing. Do come in."

Regina steps into the foyer and turns left, following her hostess into a lavishly decorated front parlor where she's silently invited to sit on a sofa upholstered in deep purple satin with nothing more than a slight gesture; a wave of the hand.

"Coffee? Tea?" She gestures toward a liquor cabinet carved in black walnut. "Something stronger? If I remember correctly, bourbon was your preferred poison."

"Not necessary, thank you."

"Well, don't keep me waiting. You haven't needed my help with anything for a very long time, Regina. What's this all about?"

Regina crosses her legs and laces her fingers together around the cap of her knee. "I've just been informed today that my son is expected to become the next author for the storybook we're all a part of."

"Oh?" Maleficent is quiet for a beat before continuing. "Well, that is a surprise, but I can't help feeling like it shouldn't be one. Nearly every other time I see him, he's toting that book. He's attached to it." She's silent for a moment longer before asking, "Are you not happy about this? Last, I heard, you were trying to find a way to get the current author to change your story. I dare say it might be a great deal easier to persuade your own son to do it. Unless, there's some reason you don't want him to be the next writer."

"I've already moved past wanting to use the author to alter my story. Good thing too. Turns out, that's how the current author found himself imprisoned in the book. For changing stories; writing them as he sees fit. The author isn't meant to alter the stories in any way. His purpose is simply to record them. The apprentice wants to strip Isaac of his power and pass the pen on to the next author, whom he has declared Henry to be. However, before the ink can be used it must be magically charged."

Maleficent raises an eyebrow. "And you need my help with this?"

"Not so much your help, I suppose. What I'm really looking for is your cooperation."

"Go on. I'm listening."

"As much as he loves that book, at first, Henry didn't want the position. The only way to charge the ink is with the savior's dark potential."

She squints. "Regina, this is basic blood magic. This is not something you need help with. Well -except." The penny drops and Maleficent nods. "Now I see your problem, as well as Henry's reluctance. The only way to access Emma's dark potential is…" She trails off without verbally finishing the thought.

Regina nods. "My son doesn't want his mother going dark. Not for any reason, and certainly not for him. Gold was hoping she would go dark when she went after Lily in New York."

Maleficent takes a wild, but educated, guess "He wants to use the ink for himself?"

Regina nods again. "I'm afraid so. Which leaves me in a rather sticky position. If Henry really wants to do this, then I don't want him to be denied the chance. I want him to have the opportunity, but I also want to keep him safe as well as avoid turning Emma. In the first place, turning her would break my son's heart. In the second, she's powerful enough using light magic. Storybrooke does not need someone with Emma's power going dark. Thankfully, I don't believe that has to happen. There is a way around it, but if it works, the minute it does, all the people who are after Isaac to alter their stories…"

"They're going to hone in on your son."

"Exactly."

"I haven't spent a lot of time with him, Regina. I've just spoken to him in passing. He doesn't strike me as particularly weak-minded or easily swayed - but the pressure. Standing up under that may be a lot to ask of a boy his age."

Regina nods almost imperceptibly and offers her a slight smile. "If he were anyone else but who he is, I would tell him no. I would tell him to wait a few years for that very reason. Henry's no pushover. He's young. But, he stands up just fine under the weight of having me for a mother. I'm not worried he'll cave under pressure. I'm worried about what he'll face when he doesn't cave."

"That shouldn't be too hard to deal with. You take the first imbecile who tries… And you kill them; slowly and publicly. That should get the word out. He's not to be touched. Touching him is not even to be thought of."

"Except I'm not supposed to be doing that anymore. You can take any parent in Storybrooke – hell Mal, you can take any decent parent in this world, and if somebody messed with their child, no one would condemn them for murder. But, if the reformed Evil Queen back slides – even in the name of protecting her son, they'll be lighting my funeral pyre before the last breath leaves my body. Which, I don't give a damn about. However, my husband, and both of my sons would have a very big problem with my return to darkness. And that, I do care about, very much."

Maleficent clicks her tongue against the inside of her cheek and nods as she gets up to pour them each a drink. Handing Regina a crystal tumbler with three fingers worth of bourbon in it, she clinks glasses. "Love is a bitch!" She announces before downing the contents of her own glass.

Regina bobs her chin in agreement before chuckling softly. "Now that, I'll drink to." She raises her glass, but sips judiciously as opposed to draining the glass dry.

"Life was so much easier when we could just set the faces of the people who annoyed us on fire and throw their sorry asses in the dungeon!"

"Easier? Definitely! But also, lonelier."

"Well, there is that. How is married life, by the way? How's the sex?"

Regina's only response is to widen her eyes as she inhales deeply; pulling air through her teeth.

"That good? Really? Do you mind the beard?"

Regina slowly shakes her head. "I don't mind the beard at all. Every once in a while, if he catches me in just the right way, it tickles a bit, or I wind up with a mild case of stubble burn. Doesn't matter. He's more than worth it."

When she falls silent, Maleficent chuckles softly. "You're done sharing. You're not going to tell me anything else, are you?"

Regina shakes her head again. "Take it from me Mal. Living vicariously sucks. Go get your own husband."

"Spoilsport!" She declares in mild disappointment before moving on. "So… You think you can charge the ink without turning Emma?"

"I'm almost positive."

"Okay, how?"

"Before they were even born, Emma's darkness was transplanted. If I'm right, no one needs to be turned. A few drops of Lily's blood should do the trick." Regina pauses, letting the weight of her words sink in for a moment before continuing. "Trouble is, something tells me that if I just walk up and ask her for it…"

Maleficent nods her head. "Yeah, that's not gonna be well received, Regina. It'll just be another reminder of what Snow and David did. And, Lily's head is in a weird place right now. It has been ever since you all came back from the underworld with suspicions about her paternity. She wanted to know, so she took the test Emma asked for. They are cousins. She's all mixed up about that. I think part of her is happy about it. She tells me that, as girls, she and Emma were quite close, but the relationship was always tempestuous at best. Whatever happiness she feels, she's also angry about it. She feels trapped by the connection."

"Any ideas on how we might be able to help her feel better; maybe clear out some head space."

Maleficent shrugs. "She won't admit it in so many words, but she really wants to know about her father. There's very little I can tell her; almost nothing. I don't think it helped her any when Emma came back with news that James was gone. It's just one more reason for her to feel cheated. But, truth be told, it was just a one night stand. Even if he had known about Lily, I doubt he would've won any awards for father-of-the-year. Judging from what little I have learned about him, it seems more than obvious he suffered from a bad case of self-loathing. I'm not sure he would've taken well to having any child; much less one who's a dragon. I would never say this to Lily, but I'm thinking it's probably good he's gone."

"Well, she's not going to talk to David. Not willingly. I'm not sure if he can tell her much more than you anyway. What he can tell her may not be worth hearing. I'm not sure if a conversation with Albert Spencer would help or hinder."

Maleficent's squints. "I'm still relatively new here, remember? Albert Spencer?"

"Storybrooke's least favorite lawyer. In the Enchanted Forest, he was King George. He raised James. After James died, trying to kill a dragon, he went after David; trying to find solace for his grief. It didn't work. They may have been identical twins, but I gather the similarities were only skin deep. The fact that he couldn't replace James, only angered George. For a while, he tried to make David's life hell."

"For a while? Has he stopped trying?"

"Either that, or it's just on the back burner. He might be able to tell Lily a few things; things she might like to know. You can supply her with the information. If you want, I'll even arrange a meeting between the two of them. You should know, though, his demeanor has not improved. He's one of Storybrooke's more disagreeable citizens. I don't expect he'll welcome Lily with open arms. If he does, it's likely to be for his own self-serving reasons. He's cold; unattainable. There's no fire in him; no passion."

"I wonder what happened to him?"

"According to rumor, he lost his enthusiasm for life when he lost his wife."

"No, I'm not talking about George. I'm talking about James. David's not a dragon. They were identical twins. James must've been cursed at some point in life, which would probably only intensify his hatred of dragons."

Regina shrugs. "Spencer's probably the best person to ask. If anybody here in Storybrooke knows the answer to that question, it would most likely be him."

Maleficent is quiet for several long seconds. "I want to talk to him. Alone, by myself, without Lily before I make a decision about whether or not to tell her about him."

Regina nods. "That's understandable - Mal, there's one other thing you should know."

When the blonde raises an inquiring eyebrow, Regina continues. "You aren't going to like it, but I think I better tell you now. Better that Lily hear it from you, than to stumble onto it by herself. The apprentice - He's here in town. He's also the one who helped Snow and David all those years ago."

Maleficent sits up straighter in her chair; her posture going rigid. For several long seconds, she says nothing. When she does speak, her voice is deadly calm despite the fire burning in her eyes. "Add his name to the list of people I want to talk to ahead of my daughter!"

"That's also understandable. I'll see if I can arrange it. Just grant me one small favor? As a mother, I get it. As mayor, I would really appreciate it, if you and your daughter try to refrain from setting fire to the entire town."

"Since, I can't live anywhere but here, setting fire to the entire town would be rather self-defeating, which I wouldn't give a damn about if it wasn't for my daughter."

Regina nods solemnly.

 **Chapter 86: Uh oh!**

Three hours later Regina steps back over the threshold of her own front door. She's grateful to find a number of low lights burning in the great room. She pauses to look around for a moment, finding the ground floor quiet. Her guests have gone home, and although it's too early for them to be asleep yet, obviously the household occupants have retired for the evening, moving to the upper floors of the old apple barn. Quietly, she kicks off her heels, and deposits her handbag on top of the credenza a few feet from the door before she lifts her foot off the floor and carefully rotates her swollen ankle side to side to relieve a sharp twinge.

"And, just where have you been?"

Turning suddenly, in response to her husband's quiet question, she smiles at the warm note of affection present in his voice; noticeable even as it mingles with mild irritation. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" He teases as he makes his way down from the second-floor landing, barefoot in nothing but jeans and a T-shirt.

Trying not to laugh, Regina raises an eyebrow. "Funny, you don't look like my father."

When he's near enough to wrap his arms around her, she snuggles close and breathes in the fresh scents of soap, shampoo and toothpaste. She offers him a light kiss and then breathes barely above a whisper, "You don't feel like him either."

"Thank the gods."

"Umm hmm…" Regina murmurs as she softly kisses his neck. "That might be a bit creepy, huh?"

"A bit? That might be more than just a bi… Will you stop that! Leave my neck alone, woman. You're just trying to sweet talk your way out of trouble. Don't think I don't know that."

Teasing, she shrugs as if she couldn't care less and steps out of his embrace to make her way across the room to the staircase he just descended.

"Where do you think you're going?" He stays close behind, wrapping his arms around her once more. "I said behave yourself. I didn't say go away."

Regina squints as she rests her head on the shoulder he offers. "You're weird. You know that?"

"Oh, I'm weird, am I?"

Smiling up at him, she nods emphatically. "No one else I've ever met wants to cuddle with me while they're busy fussing at me for coming in past curfew." She repeats for emphasis, "You're weird!"

"Well, you better get used to it Mi'lady."

"Robin, it's not really that late."

"No, but it is dark outside. If you're going to leave home without telling me where you're going, you have to be home before the street lamps come on. Otherwise, I get concerned. I don't know if you've noticed this, my love, but we live in the woods. There are all kinds of animals out there that creep, crawl, and slither after dark."

Regina's sassy laughter is musical. "Robin, I'm not afraid of anything it creeps, crawls, walks on four legs, or slithers through the woods in the dark of night."

"Yes, I know. You're much more dangerous than fuzzy little woodland creatures."

"That's right. I am!"

"Just humor your husband; please."

Regina rolls her eyes but then acquiesces and offers sincerely. "I'm sorry. I didn't think I would be gone this long, if it matters. It was just supposed to be a quick trip. When it turned into more, I should've called you."

"Much better. Where did you disappear to?"

"I didn't disappear. I walked right out the front door. You just didn't see because you were busy with Roland. I thought I would be back before you realized I was gone. I went to see Maleficent. I asked her to help me talk Lily into giving up a few drops of blood. Since, she holds Emma's darkness, her blood should charge the ink. Lily wants to know about her father. So, I took Maleficent to talk with Albert Spencer, AKA King George. She wanted to talk to him herself before she tells Lily about him."

"How did that go?"

"About like I expected it would. The prospect of getting to know a granddaughter intrigues him. He's hopeful for a connection to the son he lost through Lily. However, he's also a narrow-minded bigot. His son spent much of his adult life slaying dragons. Like every other child in the world, he learned that behavior from somewhere, and although this is not always the case, children usually pick up their prejudices from their parents, or from the adults in their life who have the most influence over them."

"Do you think he'll get over himself and welcome a granddaughter who happens to be a dragon into his life?"

Regina shrugs. "Some parents are willing to change everything in their life for a child. Some won't or can't. In Spencer's case, I'm leaning toward 'no' but, there are scores of people in this town who have said the same thing about me. I don't know. Maybe he'll surprise me. Whatever he does, it's up to him. The connection is his to make - or break."

Robin nods.

"After that, I took Mal to see the apprentice."

Robin whistles low. "You took her to see the man who helped facilitate the abduction and subsequent violation of her child?" He shakes his head. "Woman, you're fearless!"

Still wrapped in his arms, Regina lifts one shoulder in a shrug and squints. "Nothing for me to fear. I'm not the one who stole her kid before she even hatched."

"Is the old guy still breathing?"

Regina nods. "Surprisingly, yes. Although, I think the only reason why is because she can't transform anymore. I think I was part chaperone, part backup."

"Backup?"

"Yeah you know, wing man, brawl buddy. He is a wizard. She needed somebody to keep her from going too far, but she also needed somebody to watch her back – step in if she got cornered."

"And, it just had to be you? I don't like that, Regina. You should've called me!"

"Relax, it was fine. He may have powerful magic, but he's old. His reflexes and reaction times are slipping. Not that he needed them – much. The real fireworks haven't started yet."

"Yet?"

"Mal…" Regina giggles darkly. "Robin - I've never seen her hit anybody before! He opened the door to his hotel room, and she slugged him. Knocked him flat on his ass. I'm pretty sure she broke his nose too. Then, she threw him across the room! All before he even had time to register what was happening to him. I don't blame her – not at all! If somebody did that to Henry or Roland… They'd be dead. That's all! Just dead! The only reason he's not a pile of ash already is because she can't transform. But, she's still a bad-ass witch. He'll do well to get out of town before she decides to curse him."

Chuckling quietly in response to the light in her eyes, Robin threads the fingers of one hand through her hair and gently lifts her chin. "What is it about a fistfight that makes you so happy? A few months ago, you punched your sister. Not that I don't I understand you getting a thrill from that. I also understand Maleficent lashing out at the old man. He is partially responsible, and I figure she's been sitting on her rage. Quite honestly, I'm surprised she didn't go after Snow and David more aggressively. But you, you like a good brawl."

"The guy had it coming!"

"I'm not disputing that. I'm commenting on your reaction to it."

Regina shrugs, wholly unconcerned. "It's harder than using magic. With magic, do it right and you don't even have to break a sweat. Physical altercations require an entirely different kind of skill set, not to mention strength. Sure, it's barbaric, but if you help steal somebody's baby…" She shrugs. "Under those circumstances, barbaric is okay with me. I know why Snow and David wanted to do it. I'd get it. But, he didn't have to help. He could have said no. He should have. And, you're right. Mal – she's been sitting on that anger for a while now."

"Is Lily going to render aid with the ink?"

"Don't know yet. She was at work. It seems that she's taken a job at the local garage. She's working on cars. Maybe it's a good sign. Maybe, she's settling in, making a home for herself here. She's angry, hard to get along with, but she's staying with Mal. She hasn't jumped ship and ran. Mal is going to ask her about the ink. I think she might be more receptive if the request comes from her mother instead of me."

Robin nods. "That might be best. What are you going to do if she says no?"

Regina shrugs. "I don't know. I'll cross that bridge when I have to." She pauses before changing the subject. "The boys upstairs?"

"Yeah, they were hungry, so I already gave them dinner, but I saved you a plate."

She smiles and offers him another light kiss. "You're a very nice man."

"Nah, not really. It's gonna cost you."

Regina throws back her head; laughing. "Name your price thief. Whatever it is, I'll pay."

 **Chapter 87: How to Get Adopted**

Pushing herself up onto her elbows, Regina glances down to the foot of the bed, squinting as she watches her husband prop her swollen ankle up on the small satin throw pillow. She gives him a hard but playful nudge with her uninjured foot and chuckles softly as she queries in exasperation, "Will you leave my foot alone, please?"

Frowning, Robin apologizes. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"

"No, not at all. I just want you to stop fussing over me."

"You should elevate it when you're sitting still. It'll help it heal faster. I just want you to be okay."

"Robin, I am okay. In fact, I'm perfectly fine. However, if you don't stop fussing over me, you're not going to be fine. You're going to be sleeping on the couch – alone."

"Nah, you don't want that." He flops down on the bed beside her. "You like me too much. You'd miss me."

"Yes, I do like you." She smiles seductively and nips gently at his lower lip. "I like you a lot, but I'm not going to miss you if you don't stop fretting. We live in a town where things are always going bump in the night, and in the daytime too, for that matter. And, not just any things, Robin - magical things. I've almost always got one bump, bruise, strained muscle, or otherwise minor injury. You're going to have to learn to accept that, or you'll make yourself crazy, and me along when you. I'm okay. I've seen worse. I've seen a lot worse. I'm not going anywhere. It's going to take more than a sore ankle to put me down. Relax, please."

"I might be less inclined to fret if you were a little more inclined. You don't seem to care. You should be taking it easy. Instead you're off dealing with Henry's book, the author, the apprentice, and the local family of dysfunctional dragons. And, you won't let Emma fix it for you."

"First, I'm a mom. Second, I'm the mayor. I can't stop being either one of those people simply because my ankle hurts a little bit. And I told you, I don't want the boys growing up thinking they can just use magic to fix everything. I was that way for a long time, Robin. I was dark and angry with a huge chip on my shoulder and I thought I was entitled. I used magic for anything and everything; and I hurt hundreds of people while I was busy using all that magic for my own personal gratification. I know, it's just a small thing. It's just an ankle, but you start using magic for the little things, it gets easier and easier to justify it until soon you're using magic for the big things - for the wrong things. I won't deny my magic. I'm not going to teach them to act as if it doesn't exist, and I'm not going to teach them to be afraid of it, but I don't want to teach them to rely on it either. Roland already looks at me like he thinks I'm some kind of living, breathing, superhero."

"Regina, that's not because you have magic. That's because you love him, and he knows it. Do you have any idea how happy you made him today?"

She squints and gives up on the book she was trying to read. Setting it aside on night stand, she asks, "What are you talking about?"

"While you were downstairs in the kitchen talking to Henry earlier today about the book and being the author, I went to check on Roland."

Regina nods impatiently "Yes, I remember."

"By the time I got to him… Well, if he were any happier, he would have burst."

Regina searches her memory of the day's events. "I don't understand why. I didn't do anything special. Really, all he got from me today was a few minutes here, and a few minutes there. I should have spent more time with him."

"You're doing better than you think you are. Today, you marched out into the front yard and demanded to know why a stranger was talking to your sons."

Shaking her head in confusion Regina shrugs. "So, what? It was a perfectly logical question."

Robin nods. "You're missing the point. Sons – as in plural. More than one. I don't think he knew, before today, that you think of him that way."

"Of course, I do."

"No, I know that. I'm saying, I don't think he knew that – not before today. I think he thought of Henry as yours, and himself, as mine. And, I don't think he expected you to feel any differently. He knows you love him, but I don't think he expected to be placed on equal standing with Henry."

Regina covers her mouth with her hands; her dark eyes going wide. "Robin, that's awful."

"I don't think Roland thought it was awful. He just thought that's the way it was. You proved him wrong. You made him feel special, Regina."

"Well, he is damn it; he should feel that way!"

"I know. And, and now he knows it too. Hey, where are you going?" He protests when she tries to extract herself from his embrace and leave the bed.

Struggling to her tired feet, Regina looks at her husband as if he's gone mad. I'm going to talk to the boy."

"What, now?"

"Yes, now."

Robin shakes his head in exasperation but can't keep the wide grin off his face as she snatches her robe off the foot of the bed and limps out the door.

Sighing, he leaves the bed and follows Regina down the hall to the bedroom door that stands slightly ajar.

Curious about an unknown source of soft light coming from inside the room, Regina peers in, knocking softly before entering.

Sitting up in bed with the top sheet pulled up over his head, Roland peers out from behind his makeshift tent and smiles as they approach.

"What are you doing under there?" She asks quietly, trying to keep a chuckle out of her voice.

"I'm playing." Roland declares in a tone of voice that implies it should be obvious.

Regina smiles. "Well, of course you are. What are you playing? Want some company?"

A cheerful smile graces Roland's face as he tosses back the sheet and displays a healthy assortment of toy army man, plastic dinosaurs and his stuffed monkey.

A slight scowl flitters across Regina's face and vanishes from sight as quickly as it appeared. Instead of scolding him, she picks up the small lamp meant for his bedside table and returns it to its proper place. From a shelf on the wall above his bed she retrieves a small flashlight and checks to make sure that it has functioning batteries before handing it to him. "You should use this instead." She tells him in a conspiratorial stage whisper. "It's safer. If you fall asleep with a light bulb burning under the covers, you're going to set yourself on fire. And, that would just be bad. Really, really, really bad!"

Roland eyes go wide with shock. "Light bulbs will catch the bed on fire?"

"They might." Regina nods. "They get hot."

Roland shakes his head emphatically. "I didn't know that."

"Well, now you do. So, let's not do that anymore. If you just have to have a light under the covers, flashlights are a whole lot safer. And, they're kinda cool too. Henry used to have one that was shaped like a dinosaur."

"He did?"

"Uh huh, he sure did."

"Where'd he get it?"

Regina chuckles softly in response to the curious look of awe and wonder on his face.

"I bought it for him. I bought it, so he could read his storybook under the covers at night when he was supposed to be sleeping."

Smart enough to pick up on the underlying hint, Roland wrinkles his nose. "I can't go to sleep right now Regina. My head is full of too much noise."

"Oh, okay." With Robin watching from the doorway, she perches on the side of the bed, and picks up one of his army men; looking it over as she tells him. "I know what that's like. Sometimes, my head gets full of too much noise too."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"What kind of noise is in your head?"

"Well, now that I'm grown up, it's mostly boring grownup stuff; like doing a good job being the mayor and worrying about whether or not you eat enough vegetables, or if Henry plays too many video games. But, when I was little; like you, I worried a lot about keeping my mom happy. It felt like she was always mad at me for not doing things the way she wanted me to."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And I still get those noises in my head… Pretty often."

"I don't think you should. You do good stuff, Regina. Well, I think you do. I don't have that noise. I have good noises."

Regina hugs him close and kisses the top of his head. "That's good. I'm glad you have good noises in your head. Your dad says you were really happy this afternoon."

Roland puts down his toys and gives her his complete, undivided, attention for the first time. "Uh huh. Still am. I get to be yours now too?"

"Well, of course, you do. I didn't know that you didn't know that already. I wish I had. If I'd known, I would have told you so sooner. Your daddy and I; we're going to share. Henry belongs to him now too, and you get to be mine. Just the same way Henry is mine."

"I like that. Do I get dopted too; like Henry?"

Regina raises an eyebrow. "I think you mean adopted, and I don't know… " Regina glances at Robin with Roland's question shining in her own eyes.

Leaving his post in the doorway, Robin joins them on the bed. "That's not a bad idea. Do you want to be adopted?"

Roland nods emphatically without a second's hesitation.

"Well, if that's what you both want, then that's what we're going to do." Regina decrees with a warm smile. "I'm all in!"

Roland smiles brightly and throws his arms around her. He giggles happily until a thought occurs to him and he squints; passing a look of uncertainty between the two adults.

"What is it sweet boy? What's on your mind?"

"I do wanna get adopted, but Mama is still Mama, right?"

"Yes." Robin and Regina announce in harmony.

"She's always going to be your mama, buddy." Robin musses his son's hair with warm affection.

Roland nods but turns his gaze to Regina; wanting to know everything's alright.

"You listen to me Roland Locksley." She says softly. "Nothing, and no one, can never change that. Not even me, and, I wouldn't change it - not even if I could. Once you're somebody's mom, you're Mom forever. Now, I love you so much it's disgusting, but I promise you, your mom is still your mom, and she always will be."

The three of them are unaware that they've drawn an audience until Henry speaks from the doorway. "Sometimes, some of us get really, really, lucky. Some of us get two moms."

Roland smiles. "Hey, Henry."

"Hey Ro."

"But, my mama's gone now. She died."

Henry shakes his head. "I know, but you know what? That doesn't matter. She's still your mom; just like Mom and Robin said. Sometimes, it might seem a little weird, but trust me, it's okay to have two moms. In fact, it's pretty cool."

Roland turns his curious face to Regina once more. "Am I supposed to call you mom?"

Regina thinks it over and wrinkles her nose. I don't think you're supposed to." She says stressing the appropriate word. I think it should be your choice. If you want to, that's okay with me. I'd like that, but only if that's what you want."

Roland squints and turns his uncertain gaze to his father.

Robin lifts one shoulder in a shrug. "I think Regina's right. What do you want, my boy?"

"Daddy, do you think it would make Mama sad?"

Robin wrinkles his brow in thought. "Son, if your mama is sad at all, it's only because she misses you. I think she would be happy that you have somebody to help me take care of you. I think she would be happy to know that somebody here loves you."

Roland frowns and turns worried eyes back to Regina.

"Hey…" She says softly; guessing what's on his mind. "Don't you worry about me. You do whatever you think feels good. I already love you to bits, and I'm going to keep loving you no matter what you decide to call me."

Roland smiles and wrinkles his nose in thought. "I kinda like you being my Regina."

She squeezes the boy until he squeaks and giggles. "I kinda love being your Regina."

Roland looks at Henry. "How do you get adopted?"

Henry laughs. "Don't ask me. I have no clue!"

Roland screws up his face in confusion. "How come you don't know? You are adopted!"

His audience laughs gently as Henry explains. "I don't even remember it happening. I was only a little guy; a lot younger than you are now. Ask Mom. I'm sure she remembers what to do."

When Roland turns his gaze back to her, Regina runs her fingers through his hair affectionately. "Don't worry. Henry's not wrong. I remember every second of it. I know just what to do. It'll take some time to get it all squared away, but we'll make it happen."

Reassured, Roland yawns. "Okay." He smiles, trying to stall his own fatigue he asks sleepily, "Can I have pancakes for breakfast tomorrow?"

Regina chuckles and says with mock severity, "Only if you go to sleep right now!" She turns off his small flashlight, and places it on the bedside table. "No more playing tonight. It's getting late. It's time for happy little boys to turn out the lights and close their eyes." She stands up and pulls the sheet and the blankets up to his chin, places a single fingertip against his raised forehead and forces his head gently down onto the pillow. "We will see you tomorrow. Sleep now." She tucks his toy monkey into bed beside him, kisses him good night and quietly ushers Robin and Henry out of the room before he can think of any more questions to ask. She leaves the bedroom door the way she found it when she arrived; slightly ajar.

Henry gives a slight wave and says a quite good night to both Robin and Regina where they stand because his room is at the opposite end of the hall from the master bedroom and they will be heading in different directions. Having overheard this, Roland calls loudly from his bed "Goodnight already. Hurry up!" He yawns. "Go to sleep! I want pancakes."

With her hand in Robin's, Regina quick steps down the hallway and manages to close the door to their bedroom before laughter bubbles out of her. "That kid!" **Chapter 88: The Magic of Everyday**

Days turn into weeks as the Mills-Locksley family quickly finds and settles into a comfortable routine. Regina and Robin go to work, quickly establishing the familiar rhythm of their day to day life as they learn to balance Regina's structured schedule with Robin's more relaxed one, look after their boys and carve out a healthy amount of adult time to be alone with each other.

Less than two weeks after the adoption talk, Robin goes home for lunch to find his father-in-law staring at the kitchen phone with a puzzled look on his face.

"Problem sir?"

The older man shrugs dismissively. "Probably not. I just called Regina's office for the second time today. No answer."

Robin smiles. "It's Wednesday. She's probably…" Realizing that what he was about to say couldn't possibly be right, he stops suddenly. Shaking his head and chuckling slightly, he announces, "Never mind. I have no idea where my wife is."

Henry raises an eyebrow. "What were you about to say?"

"Well…" Robin clears his throat, feeling mild discomfort. "On Wednesdays, she used to take her lunch by the mausoleum. She'd sit, have lunch, and visit with you. Before I caught myself, I was about to say that, just because I knew it was her habit."

Regina's father chuckles with an understanding smile. "Somehow, I doubt that's what she's up to this afternoon. I suppose she could've gone there to connect with Cora. It's unlikely though. She carries Cora around with her in her head."

Robin studies the man for a moment before quietly offering, "And you, in her heart. That's why she had to go visit with you. She had to be somewhere alone in private before she could open up that part of herself."

The older man nods. "How well I know."

Pulling sandwich makings from the refrigerator, Robin delivers the assortment of ingredients to the kitchen counter. "Try again after two. Wherever she is, she should be back in her office by then. If it's important, call her cell. Would you like a sandwich?"

"It's nothing pressing. We're out of coffee and getting low on toothpaste. The toothpaste can go on the grocery list, but without her morning coffee, she will be a bit out of sorts tomorrow, and yes, a sandwich sounds wonderful; thank you."

Another two weeks go by and on Friday morning Regina must literally force herself out of bed. As she pats her face dry, after washing it, she stands in the doorway between the bedroom and the master bath and gazes at the sleeping man still in their bed. He's had fewer than four hours sleep. Last night, he picked up a shift of the Rabbit Hole for the regular bartender who reportedly had the flu. Coming in after 2:00 AM, Robin had just fallen into bed when the phone rang. Ashley Boyd had locked herself out of her house accidentally. She had taken her crying daughter out onto the back porch of a mind to avoid waking the baby girl's father. She called complaining that Tom must've taken a sleeping pill without her knowledge because he was sleeping like the dead and, despite her best efforts, she couldn't rouse him to let her in. She desperately needed a way back into her house and wondered if Robin would mind being of assistance. He'd gone and returned just before three. Deciding to let him sleep a bit longer, Regina showers, dresses and trudges down the stairs to get her boy's breakfast ready.

Putting waffles and fresh fruit on the table in front of Roland and Henry, she asks the younger boy, "Are you going to work with me today?"

Roland bites into a plump strawberry before shaking his head emphatically. Me and Big John are going fishing with Little John."

She patiently corrects him as she pushes his long sleeves up past his elbows. "Big John and I." She uses a couple of her soft elastic hair ties, strategically placed around his slender biceps to hold the sleeves in place so that he won't accidentally dip the cuffs into his syrup as he eats.

The small boy nods dismissively in response to the correction as he picks up his fork and begins to devour breakfast in his usual fashion. Despite being fed regularly, every morning he wakes up with an appetite big enough for someone three times his size.

Robin shuffles into the kitchen yawning and quietly hugs her from behind before moving to the table. "Morning." He offers an abbreviated greeting to the rest of the family as she fixes his plate. When she sets the plate on the table in front of him, and then starts to move back to the counter to get her own plate, he catches her by the hand; stopping her. He studies her for a moment. "You feeling okay? You look… I don't know… Something's off. "

"I'm fine." She says softly, and something in her tone whispers unconvincingly. She gently pulls her hand free of his. "I'm tired."

"Just tired?"

Regina raises an eyebrow as she considers the question as well as its answer. After a long moment's contemplation, she shakes her head. "Tired and… uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable? What does that mean?"

She shakes her head and lifts one shoulder in a shrug. "it's just the best word I can think of. I can't put my finger on it, but you're right. Something's off."

"Was it the day before yesterday, or the day before that? You went to look after Neal for a little while when David was at work. You're not coming down with Snow's cold, are you?"

Regina shrugs again. "I better not be. I have too many things to do. I don't have time to deal with that. If she gave me her cold, I might just have to throw a fireball at her!"

"Mom!"

"What? It's been a really long time since I did that." Regina flashes a brilliant smile and goes on the defensive. So long I can't even remember the last time I did it. I've got to keep her on her toes, don't I? We can't have her getting rusty!"

"Mom!"

"Okay, okay, no fireballs! Geez!" Regina reaches over and squeezes her oldest son's shoulder affectionately. "Seriously though, I don't think so. I don't feel feverish or achy like I usually do if I'm coming down with something. I'm just tired and…"

"Uncomfortable." She and Robin finish in unison; both of them nodding as the rest of the family looks on.

Robin offers her a warm smile. "Stay home today. Rest. Maybe you just need to recharge."

"Can't."

"Why not?"

"I told you, too much to do. Especially if I'm going to New York this weekend. I need to clear my desk before I leave."

"What you need is a deputy mayor. Someone who can step in, when you need to step away."

Regina shakes her head, and opens her mouth, an automatic disagreement on the tip of her tongue, only to snap it shut again as she blows out a puff of air and points her fork in his direction. "That's actually not a bad idea, Robin. A regularly scheduled day off every now and then couldn't hurt. And with all the magical shenanigans that go on in this town, it would be helpful to have someone at the ready, someone capable of stepping in if I literally get pulled away by some unexpected portal opening. It's not like that has never happened before. It's not like it's never going to happen again."

Robin nods in surprise.

"What?"

"I was expecting the argument you decided not to offer."

Regina sips slowly from her cup of coffee before saying over the rim, "Speaking of things we need – I think we need to revisit our discussion about you going into business for yourself. You know, as opposed to you picking up random shift work here or there and coming and going at all hours. You do look exhausted, Robin."

"A lot easier said than done, Mi'lady."

"Why?"

First, getting a new business off the ground isn't going to mean fewer hours."

"Okay. Fair point, but it might mean more predictable hours. That alone could help."

"The bigger obstacle by far is funding."

"Robin, if money is your problem then, you don't have any problems. I've got that covered."

Robin smiles doubtfully. "Really? I've done a bit of research. Starting up is not going to be nearly as easy here in Storybrooke as it was in Sherwood Forest. Do you just happen to have a couple $100,000 lying around that you're not using?"

"Actually… Yes. My house has been standing empty since I moved in here. I've been thinking about selling it." She pauses long enough to turn her father. "Unless you want it?"

Henry raises an eyebrow as he chuckles. "Me? What does an aged old bachelor like me need with a house that size? I'm quite comfortable and happy to be where I am – unless this is your polite way of suggesting that maybe I should move out?"

Regina's eyes go wide as both she and Robin shake their heads. "Daddy, you know better! Your home is with me!"

"Yes dear, but the last time we lived together you were not married with two children."

Robin puts down his fork and wipes his mouth with his napkin before speaking. "Henry, this is your home. You aren't in anyone's way. This old barn is more than big enough for all of us, and quite honestly, we've come to depend on you. You keep this household running smoothly. You keep us all grounded. Besides, we like having you here. No one wants you to leave."

"Na uh, Mr. Henry. You can't leave. Who will teach me to play chess? Please stay." Roland begs; suddenly looking worried.

"I already divide my time between two houses, Grandpa. If you leave, I'll have to work in a third." Young Henry groans comically. "So, why don't you stick around. Mom only offered because she thought you might like a little peace and quiet."

Henry, Sr. smiles. "Peace and quiet is overrated. I've had all the solitude I want; and then some."

Regina happily returns to her original train of thought with a decisive nod of her head. "Alright then, with no one in the house, the upkeep on it is going to become a burden. It's not like we don't have enough to do without taking care of a house nobody lives in. Let me put in a market. Robin, you'll have your startup capital. If you're going to leave our bed in the middle of the night to help people break into their own houses, you may as well get paid for it. You can open a home security company, and you can re-design the carriage house and use it as your office. If you'd rather open another tavern, that's doable too, but you'll need a place in town to have any real shot at success. Plus, I don't want to live next door to a tavern and have drunken people coming and going all hours of the day and night."

"If you're sure you want to part with that kind of money - new businesses are a risk - but, if you're sure, I'll give it some serious thought."

Regina squints. "Really? No argument?"

Robin shrugs. "I could offer one or two, but to what end? Every dime of it will go toward supporting this family. We're supposed to do that together, right? If you supply the start-up cash, and I supply the muscle, maybe we can make a go of it."

Regina reaches across the table and warmly squeezes his hand.

Switching gears, Robin says. "I think we have something else we need to cover this morning before we leave the table."

When three sets of curious eyes look at Robin first and then turn her way, Regina gets up from the table briefly, opens a kitchen cupboard, removes something from the uppermost shelf, and returns with a box carved in cedar and adorned with intricate scrollwork.

She places it on the table in front of Henry and he stares at a curiously for several long seconds before reaching for it.

He's seen boxes like this before. He's seen several in his grandfather's pawn shop. The box is long and narrow, and others like it usually hold jewel encrusted daggers, athames, or some other small item that is usually imbued with great magical power. His mother has one. It holds her wand, and its magical seal can be opened by her touch alone.

Henry lifts the box from the table and holds it aloft in his right hand while his mother gently takes his left, places it firmly on the lid, and casts a spell silently, with nothing more than a wave of her hand. As Henry's hand glows a brilliant white golden, he watches in curious wonder, taking his eyes away from the box only long enough to grin at Roland, who is absolutely spellbound by what he sees.

When his hand and stops glowing, Regina announces, "There, Henry, you're now the only person who can open this box." Before continuing, she glances briefly at Roland. "You two have been pretty good about sharing things with each other. This is not to be shared. This is Henry's and it is off limits. Playing with what's in this box is not allowed. It will get you into trouble. Do you understand?"

Roland nods; wide eyed and serious.

Just for good measure, she adds. "I mean it, Roland. This is not a toy. Hands off; understand?"

"Yes Ma'am."

She offers him a warm approving smile. Then, turning her attention back to Henry, she says, "Well, go on! Are you going to open it, or just sit there and ogle it?"

Grinning with the light of mystery shining in his eyes, Henry opens the box. Despite the fact that he's not surprised by its content, a mild thrill still dances its way down his spine. He gently runs his fingers over the familiar pen as well as the cap on the small square vial of black ink. He turns his eyes to his mother briefly, "I take it the ink has been charged?"

Regina nods. "Hence, the need for the box. I think it would be safest kept in the vault and I would be fine with you keeping it there, but if you did, you wouldn't have ready access to it which would make using it rather difficult. You already know how I feel about keeping magical items in the house. So, please be extremely careful with this, Henry. And just to be on the safe side, I would prefer you leave it in your room. Don't put it in your backpack and carry it off to school, or any place else. If you do that, and accidentally leave your bag somewhere…"

Henry nods. "I got it Mom. It's dangerous. How did you do it? I guess Lily consented."

"She did. Maleficent talked her into it for me. They gave it to me a couple weeks ago.

Henry squints, "You have had it for a couple weeks already?"

"Yes, I have. I had to hang onto it for a while. I was trying to get comfortable with the idea. This is a big deal Henry. This is not to be taken lightly. When you're not using them, both the quill and the ink, in the box, always, and it stays locked! If Gold, or anybody else gets a hold of this Henry…"

He nods gravely. "I know. I got it, Mom, promise."

Regina sighs heavily. "Okay, I know you've seen the mess that Isaac made of things. Use it well. Use it the way it's intended. You mess up and get yourself locked inside that book, and you and I are going to have a serious problem with each other, Mister!"

Chuckling, Henry shakes his head and holds out his hands, waving them as if he's trying to warn off an attacker. "Don't worry Mom! I don't like the book that much!"

"Okay, lecture over. Finish your breakfast, go put it someplace safe, go to school, and try to learn something today."

As Henry picks up the box and leaves the kitchen at a trot with a piece waffle covered in blackberry jam clenched between his teeth, Regina smiles knowingly at the preschooler seated at her kitchen table. "I know you going fishing this morning. After you get back, how about if you and I go out to dinner together; just the two of us?"

Roland wrinkles his nose, thinking about it. "Just you and me?" He asks with a mix of uncertainty and help

"That's right. Just us. What do you say we leave everybody else here to fend for themselves tonight? Will you be my dinner date?"

Roland's sweet face lights up and he nods emphatically.

Teasing, Robin complains. "First, you're going to fly off and leave me here this weekend while you go to New York, and now you're having dinner with another guy?" He shakes his head and playfully glares at his wife.

Roland giggles and Regina's father smiles quietly as she offers, "Hey, I thought you would want to stay here. You are more than welcome to come to New York and spend the weekend with me, my wicked sister, and her husband; Lord Death, and their cantankerous newborn."

Robin groans theatrically. "Thanks love, but I'll pass." He winks at his son. "Don't stay out too late with my girl."

Roland giggles and Regina rolls her eyes before making a sultry offer. "Will you like my having dinner with Roland better if I promise to come home and have dessert alone with you?"

Robin leans over and plants a light kiss on her cheek as he whispers, "Now, that could work."

 **Chapter 89: Aunt Regina**

When her breathing returns to normal, Regina sighs with contentment, rolls onto her side to place a hand softly on Robin's chest; over his heart.

He covers her hand with his own and drapes his free arm around her, pulling her warm naked body close. "Dessert was nice."

"Yes. It was." She offers him a sultry smile.

"Did you and Roland have a nice dinner?"

Regina chuckles softly in the faint glow of light from the lamp on her bedside table. "He pulled out my chair for me. Did you teach him that?"

Robin smiles with pride and kisses the top of her head. "But of course. Just because he lives in a barn doesn't mean he has to behave like a heathen."

"You have nothing to worry about. He's far from being a heathen. Though, his table manners could use a bit of polishing. Don't scold him for it. He takes instruction well, and he tries hard to get things right. I suspect he's just not accustomed to dining in public."

Robin laughs quietly. "He's not accustomed to dining indoors; much less in public. It's nothing for the merry men to walk around at any given point in the day with food in their hands, picking meat off the bones of last night's dinner with their teeth instead of a knife and fork."

"He wanted spaghetti. He enjoyed the taste of it but twirling the pasta neatly around a fork proved to be a bit of a challenge for him. I showed him how to do it, and after a few minutes of watching him struggle, I gave up and cut the spaghetti into bite size length and suggested he eat it with a spoon instead. After that, things went well. Even children raised indoors have trouble with pasta at his age, and spaghetti with marinara is a messy food, so it really wasn't that big a deal. He needs more practice with the use of cutlery, but that will come with time." Pausing, Regina buries her face in the curve of his neck as she laughs. "Robin, you should've seen the look on his face when I asked him if he wanted chocolate mousse for dessert! I think he associated the word mousse with the animal. I explained that it was similar to pudding, but apparently, he's not familiar with that either. He opted for ice cream."

"Big surprise." Robin says glibly.

I promised him that the next time we take him to New York, I would take him to one of the ice cream parlors and let him pick out a sundae of his choice."

"Regina, you don't have to take him that far for ice cream. He'll be just as happy making his own sundae right here at home."

She nods. "Probably so, though, he did complain because the ice cream shop here in Storybrooke has only been open on weekends since the departure of our residents from Arendelle. Blue has been getting a couple of the fairies to open it for a few hours on Saturdays. I suppose, before the place falls into disrepair, I should find someone to fill the post."

"There's bound to be someone in town well suited for the position; someone who needs the work." Robin says, "Not me!" at the same moment that Regina says, "Not you." They smile. "Roland would eat nothing but ice cream!"

When their quiet laughter subsides, he squeezes her shoulders affectionately. "I'm going to miss you tomorrow night."

"it's only for one night. I'll leave tomorrow morning and be back late Sunday. You can survive one night; can't you?

Robin grimaces.

"Take the boys camping. Go be a bachelor in the woods. Visit the merry men."

"Not that that doesn't hold a certain appeal, but I don't resent not being a bachelor, Regina."

"Well, if you want, you are more than welcome to come with me. I just assumed you would rather stay here. I know you support peace between my sister and I, but it's not as if she's going to win an award for best sister-in-law on the face of the planet. We could get a hotel room. You would have to entertain the boys while I'm visiting, because they will have to go with us. Henry won't mind in the least. Roland, with the exception of the possibility of visiting a New York ice cream parlor, he's not going to be particularly happy."

Robin thinks it over, torn between the two possibilities for a moment before he declares. "No. We will stay here. I'll suffer. Besides, I think Henry has plans with Emma and hook tomorrow. But, when I wake up in the middle that night because you're not here with me…"

"Send me a text message. I'll probably be awake for the same reason."

"You should get some sleep. New York's a long drive to make by yourself, and…" He looks down at her with mild concern in his eyes. "You do look tired."

"I am. I've been tired all day. I woke up tired this morning. About 3:00 today, all I wanted to do was take a nap."

"Did you?"

"No. I don't do naps. Not unless something's wrong."

"I don't understand that. You're so conscientious about you diet; why not sleep? You should listen to your body."

"Up until recently – specifically, our trip to the underworld - I've always been of the mindset that I will sleep when I'm dead. Apparently, that's not the case. At least, not if I wind up in Hades' version of the underworld. I don't know what it will be like if he's no longer there. Zeus said it was supposed to be a peaceful place. He said it was a peaceful place until he condemned Hades to run it."

"Just a suggestion Mi'lady – how about we do everything humanly possible to live in such a way that you don't wind up down there at all?"

"That's a pretty tall order. I've got a few decades of bad karma working against me."

"And, given the normal life expectancy of people in this world, you've still got a few more decades to counterbalance it. So, sleep. Let your body rest, because I want you here for a as many of them as possible."

Regina places a feather light kiss on his jaw as he reaches over to shut off her bedside lamp.

Despite sleeping soundly, she wakes the next morning no less tired. She forces herself out of bed once again, declines any and all suggestion that she should cancel - or at the very least postpone - her trip, and kisses all four of her boys goodbye. Robin reminds her to stop and rest if she gets too tired on the drive, and to text when she gets there. Her father simply smiles and wishes her a safe journey. Henry requests that she bring him back some true New York style pizza when she returns, and little Roland hugs her exuberantly; looking mildly worried over her departure. He still doesn't like it when the adults in his life depart from his general location.

A few hours later Regina can hear her niece wailing even before she reaches the door of her sister's New York apartment; the same apartment that had once belonged to Neal Cassidy. She knocks, waits an appropriate amount of time, and when there is no answer, she knocks louder before trying the doorknob. The place is locked up tight. She has no choice but to stand in the hallway and wait for her sister to answer.

Long seconds later, when Zelena it does open the door, looking harried and emotionally exhausted, Regina reaches out, without comment, and takes the redheaded baby from her arms as she steps over the threshold.

Confused, and surprised to find herself in the arms of someone new, Eliana's noisy cries soften, and then stop altogether as her blue eyes work to focus on Regina's face.

"What's all this fuss about little girl?"

The baby coos; drool sliding down her chin while she offers her aunt a smile."

Zelena and doesn't know whether to groan in exasperation, or sigh in relief. "Of course, she stops, for you. She's been screaming nonstop for three hours. She hates me!"

With eyes only for the baby, Regina says sweetly, "Oh, she does not hate you. She's too little. Babies are not capable of hate; not until we teach them how. Wait until she's a teenager; then she'll hate you."

"Oh joy! Something to look forward to!"

Regina shoots her sister a mildly sympathetic look before returning her gaze to the baby. "Are you giving Mummy a hard time?"

The baby babbles happily.

"See, she hates me."

"She does not!" Regina insists impatiently. "She'll probably start screaming again in a few minutes. I'm just new. She doesn't remember meeting me. She's just trying to figure me out. Once she loses interest, she'll return to her tantrum. Right, Eliana? Unless of course, we can figure out why she's having the tantrum, and fix it."

"I'm telling you, she stopped screaming because you're not me. Except for when she's asleep, she does this all day until Hades comes home."

"Where is he?"

"He got a job; working in an antique store."

"I thought Zeus supplied enough for the three of you to live off of?"

Zelena nods. "He said it would be enough for us to be comfortable. It's more like, enough to survive. Hades wants more than just survival."

"An antique store is probably a good fit for him. He likes fine things. He's a collector, a connoisseur; and antique shops are more upscale than Gold's pawn shop in Storybrooke. Regina rocks the baby gently side to side as she finally offers her sister her complete attention. "She's growing. Gaining weight; that's a good sign. How are you?"

Zelena scoffs. "How am I? Look at me. I haven't slept, or even changed my clothes in over 24 hours. I'd kill for the chance to wash my hair, but she won't settle down long enough for me to get in the shower."

"So, now's your chance. Go."

"Go what?"

"Go take a shower. Auntie Regina is here. Right, Eliana? Tell Mummy we're going to be just fine. We got this!"

"Are you sure? You just said, yourself, she'll probably start throwing her tantrum again in a few minutes."

Regina shrugs, wholly unconcerned. "That's okay. I'm no stranger to tantrums. I've even thrown a few myself."

Conflicted by her maternal instinct and her desire for a few minutes to herself, Zelena says, "Okay, well, make yourself at home." She starts slowly across the room. "There's coffee in the kitchen. I just fed her 15 minutes ago. So, she's not hungry. There are blankets, and diapers…" She points to the door of her daughter's small nursery. "Are you sure you don't mind? Maybe I should just stay…"

"What?" Regina interrupts. "Until she starts screaming again? Go! Now, while you had the chance. Don't worry. We're not going anywhere, and she'll be just fine."

Thirty minutes later, Zelena ventures back into her living room still tired, but looking noticeably fresher, and in a state of utter wonder. Her apartment is still quiet. A simple lunch of roast beef sandwiches accompanied by leftover soup that had been bought at a local deli and reheated on the stove top is spread across her small kitchen table, and her daughter is in her bassinette, wrapped snugly in one of her father's sweater, and sound asleep.

Feeling both grateful, and mildly jealous, Zelena stares at her sister in astonishment. "You fixed lunch. How?"

Regina shrugs. "Come. Sit. Eat. It wasn't difficult. It's just soup and sandwiches, and she's been asleep for almost 15 minutes."

Careful not to wake her, Zelena gently touches the thick cable knit sweater her baby is swaddled in. "Don't tell me she's out of clean blankets already?"

Regina shakes her head reassuringly. "There is a stack of clean blankets. You said she cries, unless she's asleep, until Hades comes home. Maybe she's not crying because she doesn't want you. Maybe she's crying because she misses her daddy. I found the sweater tossed over the back of that chair." She pauses to point. "I assume it's his. It smells like his cologne. Babies her age still can't see as clearly as you or I can - their vision is still developing - but his scent on the sweater probably makes her feel safe. She went right to sleep as soon as I wrapped her in it."

Zelena collapses into a kitchen chair as her sister hands her a cup of tea. "Now, why couldn't I have thought of that?"

"Because… You have a sleep-deprived, unhappy baby. Which means you're an unhappy, sleep-deprived mom. It's hard to think clearly under those circumstances. Eat some lunch, and then take a short nap."

"I can't do that. You came all this way."

"Yes, you can. As ragged as you feel right now, it won't take long. Half an hour will make you feel like a new woman. Don't worry about anything. If she wakes up, I will put her in her car seat, put by a load of laundry on to wash, and set her on top of the washing machine."

Zelena scowls in confusion.

"Don't ask me! Babies are weird. They like the motion. They like the vibration. A lot of child specialists say that the combination reminds them of being in the womb. Somehow, I think that the spin cycle on most washing machines is more turbulent than the womb, at least I hope it is, but Henry liked it. He spent the first six months of his life sleeping on top of the washing machine. After that, when I started worrying that he might climb out of his car seat and topple off the washer, it was car rides. I'd put him in the backseat and drive down Main Street; circle the block and go home. He'd be sound asleep by the time I put the car in park at the curb."

"The washing machine? Really?"

Regina shrugs as she bites in her sandwich. "Try it. If she doesn't like it, get yourself one of those baby swings that you can wind up. Henry's is in the attic at home. I can send it to you."

"You'd do that."

"Hey, I remember what it's like. At least you've got Hades. When Henry was little, it was just me. You wind up so sleep-deprived you start to worry that you'll have some kind of psychotic break. Taking a three-minute shower feels like a luxury. You'll figure it out. It just takes time, Sis. Do yourself a favor." Regina offers patiently. "Learn to sleep when the baby sleeps."

"I'm trying to do that. It's just that Hades is an even bigger basket case than me. Plus, he's really overprotective! He's reading anything and everything he can possibly get his hands on about baby care. Half of what he reads contradicts the other half. This makes him nuts. And he's driving me to madness. Two weeks ago, he read something about crib death, so now I'm afraid to sleep when she sleeps. Especially if he's not here. When he is here, he checks on her every 20 minutes and wakes her up!"

Regina chuckles softly. "I remember that too. It's good to be informed. Go ahead, read, but just accept the fact that half of what you read is going to contradict the other half. Most of the time, there is no definitive answer. At some point, you have to learn to put the books down and just go with your gut. Trust yourself. You'll make some mistakes, sure. But, in the end, you'll get more right than you think you will. Babies are fragile, yes. They are also breathtakingly resilient. And your daughter… She's tougher than you think she is. She already knows how to rise above. She learned how to fight before she was even born. So, relax. If you do, she will too. That's when things will get easier."

 **Chapter 90: Cora's Daughters**

Zelena opens her front door and greets her sister with a curious smile. "What's all this?

"Just some supplies for the baby; diapers, wipes, baby powder, lotion, etc."

Zelena squints. "It's not even 10:00 AM. You've already been shopping?"

"It's never too early for shopping."

"I don't know Regina. I like shopping as much as the next girl; especially shoe shopping, but its 9:47 in the morning. Here you are in my doorway with your arms loaded down with shopping bags, all prettied up. Looking fresh from the salon, and for what? Breakfast with us?"

Regina squeezes passed her sister into the small living room, so she can set her shopping bags down on the coffee table before stepping across the room to gaze down into her sleeping niece's bassinette. Mindful of the baby, she lowers her voice until it's little more than a whisper. "I didn't do it for you. I did it for myself. Well, the salon part anyway. I've been needing a pick-me-up. What better place to accomplish that than New York?"

Zelena nods as she steps back into her kitchen. "Why should you need a pick-me-up? Trouble in paradise?"

Shaking her head, Regina steps around the breakfast bar into the kitchen. "Storybrooke might be called quaint, but it's hardly paradise. Where's Hades?"

"He's in the shower, and I was referring to you and your tree hugging lover."

Regina bristles a she laughs dryly. "Not that he and I are any of your business, but no. I'm sorry to disappoint you Greenie; we're fine."

"Just fine?"

"Better than fine. But, I'm tired. That's all. I thought a massage and a facial might be just the thing."

Zelena shrugs and nods at the same time. "I can understand that. Sometimes just knowing you look better can make you feel better. I thought Robin stayed in Storybrooke this time around."

"He did."

"So, how come you're so tired? You had a hotel bed all to yourself last night. Or, have you gotten used to him already? Can't sleep soundly without him beside you?" Zelena asks over her shoulder as she puts beans in the coffee grinder.

With her eyes going wide, Regina shakes her head as she quietly helps herself to a barstool.

When she doesn't verbally answer the question, Zelena turns, offering her a raised eyebrow?"

"You're making an effort. I can see that, Zelena, and I appreciate it. But, after everything that's taken place, I may never be comfortable doing the sisterly gossip thing with you – not where Robin is concerned."

"Fair enough." Zelena studies her sister with skepticism clearly visible in her eyes.

"What?"

Zelena shrugs again. "Nothing really. It's just occurred to me that I can't really picture you doing the gossip thing. Not with anybody."

"That's because I don't. Not really. The closest I've ever come…" She pauses for a serious moment's thought. "Is probably with Snow."

Feeling stung, Zelena tries but fails to keep the incredulity out of her voice. "And you actively tried to kill her for how many decades?"

"What's your point, Zelena?"

"My point…" She says barely above a whisper, "Is that you can forgive people when you want to, Regina. Someone you loved is dead because of Snow, but you can let her in. Me, you do all sorts of things. You shop for my daughter, you swoop in and give me a few hours downtime just when I'm at my wit's end, you literally saved Eliana's life. But you can't let me in. You won't."

Regina shakes her head again and wills herself to inhale deeply before she speaks. "What? You make one effort… Just one? And I'm supposed to sweep everything that's happened in the last few months under the rug, just like that? First, Snow is not responsible for Daniel's death. She was a 10-year-old child. And yes, it did take me a number of decades to see this, but her heart was in the right place. She was trying to help."

"Doesn't change the fact that he's dead."

Regina forces herself to stay calm and quiet because of the baby sleeping in the bassinette on the other side of the small living room. "No, it doesn't. But his blood is on our mother's hands; not Snow's. Second, Daniel is not someone I loved. He's someone I love. There is no past tense. You and I, we've both been guilty of misplaced blame. We've both been guilty of a lot of things, Zelena. But in this case, you're comparing apples to oranges; and you shouldn't do that. Snow wasn't a grown woman. She didn't know better. She didn't know mothers were capable of such blackness. You and I both knew better; even as children. Cora taught us both that from day one. What's more, Snow did not try to seduce the man I love. She didn't try to drag him into bed without full knowledge of who he was consenting to. I don't even think Snow is capable of such an atrocity. If you resent the fact that she and I are somehow closer than the two of us, you have only yourself to thank. It's not even something you can blame Mother for. Once you knew about me, if you have given me the chance, I might have tried to be the family you want me to be. Instead, you decided to try and destroy me without even giving me the chance. I am not the one who put you in that basket and dropped you like a hot rock. I get it. You didn't get the mother you deserved. The one you did get is genetic waist. Guess what, I got her too. And I'm done. I am not going to sit here and apologize or try to make you feel better because someone else is closer to me than you. For whatever it's worth, I did not want to forgive Snow. Not at first. It was something I had to work on. Just like this is something I'm going to have to work on. I didn't do it because I wanted to. I did it because it was necessary. She and I, we've worked damn hard to get to where we are. I'm not going to apologize for that either. You want a sister? You want to put in the effort? I'm trying. But, you are going to have to stop taking everything so personally. You created this mess. I don't know, maybe you just feel like it should all be done and over with simply because we're sisters. You're not entitled. So far, you've done nothing to deserve the right to call yourself my sister. I've done the things I've done for you because I'm trying to find my way through it. I'm trying not to hate you. And under the circumstances, that's a pretty tall order. Even if I can find my way through. There's a huge difference between not hating you and trusting you. Those are two entirely different animals. You're going to have to give me time. I know my being here hurt you. That was not a choice I made. It wasn't my choice at all. You, on the other hand, did deliberately choose to hurt me, and you succeeded. You succeeded in ways you don't even know about; in ways that I will probably never be comfortable telling you about. So, if my forgiveness is too slow in coming for your liking… Suck it up a cupcake! I'm doing the best I can. Either give me the space and the time I need or tell me to get the hell out of your life… and then let me go."

"If you really feel that way, why are you trying so hard?"

Regina smirks as if the words forming on her tongue taste sour. "For a couple of reasons. First, it seems to be important to people who do actually care about me. They seem to want me to make an effort of some sort. That includes Robin even though it's unlikely he will ever feel any warmth for you at all. Second…" She stops and hesitates; chewing on her next words before she finally decides to spit them out. "When I was a little girl… I wanted a sister… So badly that I use to dream about what it might be like to have one. Mother did everything she could to limit and control my interaction with other people. Being Cora's daughter… It was a lonely way grow up."

Zelena is quiet for several long seconds. Standing at the stove with her back turned, she finally whispers, "I guess that's one thing we have in common."

 **Chapter 91: Oh Baby!**

While she's busy setting the table for breakfast, Hades steps into the room fresh from the shower and dressed for the day.

"Good morning Regina." He glances at the shopping bags still on the coffee table. "What do we owe you?"

Regina waves the question aside. "Not a thing. It was no trouble. I just picked up a few things while I was out this morning."

Hades starts to say something, but stalls when soft baby noises are heard coming from inside the bassinette. Walking over, he smiles as he picks up his daughter. "What was that? What did you say?" The baby babbles as Dad continues to smile. "Well good morning to you too, Precious." He stops long enough to offer his wife a smile. "You feed her yet?"

"Not for a few hours. Give it a try if you want. She might be hungry."

Regina smiles as he returns his attention to the baby in his arms and speaks as if he's off on a grand adventure. "Are you hungry? Let's go find a bottle!"

In minutes, he sits down to the table with his child in his arms and a warm bottle in hand.

Stepping up close behind him, Regina peers over his shoulder watching the baby eat until the scent of his aftershave ties her intestinal tract up in knots, at which point, she silently decides to keep Zelena between the two of them while at the table. Befuddled, she can't help but wonder why she's so unsettled; normally the scent of a clean male body has a profoundly different effect on her.

Nearly 20 minutes go by, and she finds herself seated at the table watching the two parents smile, babble and coo at the infant whose bottle is nearly empty. Hades, having already mastered the art of holding a baby bottle while feeding himself, spears a bite of breakfast sausage with his fork as he asks, "What time do you leave today?" And Regina makes a conscious effort to avoid looking at the poached eggs on his plate. For some reason, the sight of them is utterly nauseous-making. Before she can answer or look away, he uses the side of his fork to slice into an egg and the overly runny bright yellow yolk erupts and oozes, thIn and slimy, out onto the plate. She closes her eyes and swallows hard against the rising tide of bile surging within. She forces herself to take a deep breath and concentrates on letting it out slowly. "Well," she begins; trying to distract herself from her own wretched condition. "I was thinking…"

Within the private confines of her mind her inner voice screams, "What the hell is wrong with you? It's just an egg for God's sake!"

She feels her sister's hand on her arm and forces herself to open her eyes; looking anywhere except for her sister's husband plate.

"Regina? Are you alright? You look a bit pale."

Studying her closely, Hades concurs with a nod. "I've heard the expression before, but I think this is the first time I've literally seen the color drain from someone's face."

Regina nods and lies. "I'm fine." Still trying to distract herself, she focuses on the baby in his arms.

Zelena continues to study her discreetly courtesy of her peripheral vision as Hades prods, "You were thinking… What?"

"I was thinking…" She pauses again, still staring at the baby and doing battle with her gag reflex. When the penny finally drops, she mentally kicks herself. Suddenly laughing, she announces, "I'm an idiot! I have to go home!"

The creases on the foreheads of her hosts deepen noticeably with mild shock and confusion. She hadn't intended on leaving until later this afternoon, and she had been just about to tell them so when the light dawned. Instantly changing her mind, she stands up, prepared to leave the table at once.

Zelena's blue eyes widen dramatically. "What? You're leaving now? But, you haven't finished your breakfast."

"It's okay. I don't have much of an appetite right now in anyway, and I just realized something I probably should have realized a week ago. I need to talk to Robin."

Zelena laughs drolly. "So, call him on the phone."

Regina shakes her head adamantly. "Not a phone call kind of conversation. I need to be in the same room with him."

"So, what? You're going to drive five hours on a nearly empty stomach.

"I'll be fine. I will stop and get a smoothie when my appetite picks up."

"Well, are you coming back?" Zelena asks, trying not to take offense at her sister's sudden but unmistakable desire to leave.

Before she notices her sister's mildly wounded tone, Regina quick steps around the table and gently kisses the baby's forehead, then backs away from Hades as quickly as she approached. Looking up and making eye contact, she raises an eyebrow as she lifts one shoulder in a shrug. "Do you want me to come back?"

There's a full two seconds worth of hesitation before her sister nods quietly.

Not quite ready to hug the woman yet, Regina pats her on the shoulder as she passes by. "Then, I will come back."

As she picks up her handbag from the coffee table she notices a quiet but meaningful look pass between the married couple. Hades silently nods encouragement to his wife, and Zelena eyes her with reserve.

"What?"

"It's… just that we wanted to talk to you about something.

Regina raises an eyebrow. When her sister hesitates yet again, she waves a hand, rolling her wrist in the air with a flourish, as if to say, "Well, get on with it." When her sister stubbornly remains silent, she glances at Hades. "You still have time. I'm still here. Talk fast."

He chuckles uncomfortably. "Zeus gave us three months. There's still time, but I already know. I don't want to leave my girls. And the underworld is no place for a little girl to grow up." He takes a deep breath. We were wondering… I was wondering… If maybe you would speak to my brother, again."

Regina raises an eyebrow as she inquires calmly. "Why me?"

Zelena sighs in mild exasperation. "Because, Zeus likes you."

Laughing, Regina shakes her head. "Zeus may be the most dignified one I have ever seen, but he's a lady's man. He likes women, period. You shouldn't assume that means I have some sort of inside influence over him."

Hades tips his head to one side doubtfully. "That influence you don't think you have – it worked well enough last time."

Regina sighs mildly and removes all the stops. "That's because, aside from having an overly developed fondness for women, he's also a straight shooter. I didn't go up there and sweet talk him into anything, Hades. I didn't bribe, deceive, cajole, or placate the man. All I did, was tell him how it was. Look, I know he's mad at you. I know it's not going to be easy, but isn't a life spent with your daughter worth a little discomfort. My advice. Remove the middleman. Quit hiding behind your sister-in-law's skirt, man up, grow a pair, and go talk to your brother yourself. He's not likely to be happy to see you, but he will respect that."

Zelena's mouth falls open in shock. "You can't talk to him that way."

Hades chuckles softly as he holds up a hand to stall his wife's indignation. "Apparently, she can. And though, it pains me to say it, she's right. He is mad at me, he's not going to be happy to see me, and Eliana is worth it." With no further warning, he lifts his eyes to the ceiling and bellows loudly, "Zeus!"

Even as lightning flashes, Regina groans and squeezes her eyes shut against the brilliant blinding whiteness. She knows there's no point struggling against the forced transport, so, as soon as she feels solid ground beneath her feet, she opens her eyes, finds herself standing in a lavishly decorated dining room, turns, and slugs Hades on the shoulder hard enough to make him take an involuntary step back.

Hades flinches and scowls as Zeus laughs boisterously from his place of the table amongst a group of five women and one other man. "I don't think she's very happy with your brother. Lucky for you, she can't use magic up here or, judging by the look on her face, I think you'd be in big trouble."

Annoyed, Hades counters, "it's not funny, Zeus."

As he rubs his shoulder, Regina hisses venomously, "This is not where I wanted to go!" before folding her hands comfortably behind her back and turning her attention to the ruler of Olympus. "Hello Zeus. No offense but, I was on my way out their front door. I was trying to go home."

Zeus nods; his laughter drying up. "Hello Regina. I know that. And I know why." He smiles with certainty. "Not to worry, I won't keep you long. I'll make sure you get home in record time. Since Hades couldn't wait until after breakfast, I brought you all up here rather than coming down there. Perhaps you would like a short visit with family while I have a discussion with my brother and his wife."

"Yes, I would. Thank you."

As Zeus wipes his mouth on a linen napkin, he turns to one of the women at his table and says quietly "Aphrodite, dear, get the baby a rattle; something to play with, and while you're at it, better fetch the family. She's here, and they may as well come and meet her." Rising to his feet, he winks at Regina and with a wave of his hand, she feels herself being transported once more."

 **Chapter 92: Family**

"Oh, isn't she just the sweetest thing you've ever seen!" Aphrodite purrs. "Can I hold her? Uncle Hades, she's a magnificent! As she takes the baby into her arms, she smiles and asks the child, "You're going to be the sweetest little heartbreaker ever, aren't you?"

Walking by, pretending he's less interested that he really is, Aries teases, "What's the matter, gorgeous? Afraid you might finally have some competition?"

Aphrodite strikes a sultry pose and then sticks her tongue out. Still talking to the baby, she declares, "Don't you listen to him, honey. He's just jealous because all of his pals would rather spend time with his sister than place silly old war games with him."

Persephone steps to her sister's side and smiles down at the infant child. "Here's to new life, and just starting to bloom and bursting with potential. She's a pretty little pink rosebud."

As it is too early for liquor, Apollo raises his silver chalice of chilled orange juice. "With hair as red as the early morning sun and eyes as blue as the tumultuous ocean. Hades, you old devil, how did you get so lucky?"

Helios chimes in, talking over the others. "Speaking of luck; she's lucky she looks like her Momma "He tosses a rakish smile in Zelena's direction.

"Aww damn!" Atlas swears. When Apollo raises a curious eyebrow, he explains. "You guys just reminded me; I owe Poseidon 200 galleons. Hades got laid!"

Taken aback, Zelena's eyes go wide while Hades scowls, and Zeus, with quiet force, demands, "Language!"

Poseidon laughs loudly. "That's right! You do. Aphrodite is holding living proof! So, pay up!"

Undaunted, Atlas shrugs. "The check is in the mail. And what's wrong with my language!"

In response, Zeus steps up beside his daughter, and hands her his steaming mug of coffee before taking the baby into his own arms. With his eyes focused on the infant, he says calmly; almost sweetly, "What's wrong with your language is that there is a tiny little lady in the room. You shouldn't pollute her ears with such a rubbish. She doesn't want to hear such things. Especially not about her dad. That's just vulgar! Isn't that right, sweetheart?" For the rest of the family, he declares, "You boys should be ashamed of yourselves; welcoming little Eliana to the family with such a display! Zelena's going to think you're all a bunch of inbred knuckle-dragging heathens." Turning his attention to the baby's mother he offers her a warm smile. "I'd like to tell you they're not usually like this – but I'd be lying."

Aries smirks. "Now may not be the best time to point this out, but some of us are inbred – I'm just saying…"

"That doesn't mean you have to behave like the worst possible versions of yourselves. A little decorum; if you please."

Since she's no longer holding the baby, Aphrodite sets her father's coffee mug down on the table and approaches Zelena with the warm, welcoming eagerness. "She's gorgeous, and so are you…" She whispers discreetly, "But you look like you could do with a bit of pampering. Why don't you come with me and Persephone? We'll give you the royal treatment."

Zelena smiles hesitantly, not eager to alienate family members she's only just met. "I'd like that, but I don't want to leave her."

Overhearing, Hades steps close. "Go on. Go take a break. I won't let these reprobates corrupt her. Promise."

With their uncle's permission, the two goddesses gently pull Zelena from the room; already lost in conversation about the perfect clothes and perfect hairdo and the new mom follows along willingly enough, but she can't help glancing over her shoulder as she is led from the room.

Meanwhile, at the end of her transport, Regina finds herself standing on the front porch of a splendid but unfamiliar house. For a mere second, she looks around with indecision. It doesn't take long before she shrugs. She may not know exactly where she is on Mount Olympus, but she knows that she's stuck here until Zeus and Hades conclude their business. Zeus said he would get her home. He said that, in the interim, she could visit with family. So, with nothing else to do, she knocks.

Scarcely a moment later, an old woman opens the front door as surprised to see her guest as her guest is to see her. "Regina, dear! Back so soon?"

Regina laughs dryly. "I'm something of an accidental tourist, I think. Hades and Zeus are having another of their pow-wows, and I managed to get caught up in the middle; yet again. Sorry to show up unannounced, but Zeus said I could come and visit. He sent me on my way without telling me exactly who I'd be visiting."

Norah chuckles. "That's Zeus for you. He's just having a bit of fun with you." In a quiet singsong voice, she offers, "Round and round the Olympian transport goes. Where it will stop, only Zeus knows. Come on in. I confess, I'm a bit of a late sleeper, someone just getting to breakfast. What would you like?"

Regina laughs drolly even as she groans. "Please… Nothing for me. Do not go to any trouble on my account."

As she steps over the threshold, her great grandmother; several generations removed, studies her with an intense scrutiny. "Uh oh, with that tone… And that look… She cocks her head to one side. "I've seen the look before." Her knowing eyes light up as she points an index finger; wagging it gently. "You're either hung over, or –

She reaches out and places a withered old hand gently against Regina's lower abdomen. She waits a full two seconds before offering a serene smile. "Good. Maggie will be tickled pink to know her little bit of hocus pocus came to fruition." She chuckles softly in satisfaction. "Quite literally." When Regina raises an eyebrow, nor declares with certainty. "I know you know what I'm talking about. So, you must not know that, in life, Marguerite Darrington was non-magical. She couldn't have done what she did for you without Zeus' permission, or his assistance. We've had a few conversations about it. She was beginning to worry that perhaps she'd done it incorrectly."

As she is ushered into a large warm kitchen and offered a seat at a small but serviceable dining table, Regina shakes her head. "I figured it out myself just this morning. I should have known a week ago, but I've been too tired to think clearly. I guess I've been a bit busy; a bit distracted. I haven't seen a doctor yet, but I know."

The old woman nods. "You'll be needing to slow down; take things a bit easier. Which, is not going to be easy with your bustling household."

"Don't worry about that. Not too terribly long ago, I didn't think this would ever happen, Norah. I'm not taking any unnecessary chances with this baby. Even if I were willing to do it, my husband isn't going to let me - I'm certain of that."

Norah chuckles. "He is rather attentive; isn't he?"

Regina groans despite the wide smile on her face.

Norah pats her hand before moving to the stove and putting the tea kettle on. Over her shoulder, she offers, "Never you mind. You let him fuss over you. Not all men do that. Your grandfather didn't. Robin's a good egg. He's a good father too. Which means, your pregnancy is going to be difficult for him."

When Regina squints, the old lady doesn't even need to look up from the task at hand to know it and offer an explanation. "Until his little princess is born, you'll be his only connection to her. His only way to interact with her will be through you, Regina. Until she's born, he can't hold her. He can't feed her. He can't play with her, or physically care for her. He can't even show her affection. For the good men, the ones who are proactive fathers who don't just leave child rearing to the women; the ones who are seriously involved in their children's day to day arrives lives; the pregnancy is hard. The disconnect, the fact that their child is physically inaccessible; it makes them nervous. To compensate for that, he's going to hover, smother you with affection, and drive an independent woman like you absolutely insane. But never mind, you let him do it, and be grateful for it. Not every expectant mother is lucky enough to have that… even if she is married to a man loves her." Norah returns to the table with a warm smile and a large heavy ceramic mug filled with a tea that emits a pungent zesty aroma. "Here. You'll drink this. It'll work wonders for your nausea."

Based on the sharp scent of ginger rising from the cup, Regina sips the brew hesitantly and is pleasantly surprised to find that it tastes a great deal better than it smells.

When she offers a slight smile of gratitude, Norah nods with satisfaction. "I'll give you the recipe. You drink that twice a day. You'll get through the pregnancy without wanting to kill yourself in search of relief from the morning sickness, which, by the way, is inappropriately named. I was never sicker than I was at 10:00 at night while pregnant. Keep a pot on the stove. The scent alone helps."

Regina squints in inquiry, "Aromatherapy for pregnancy related nausea?"

The old lady shrugs. "In my day, we didn't call it aromatherapy, but I suppose that's what it was."

"I'll take any advice you got. This morning, I thought the sight of Hades eating poached eggs was going to be the end of me."

Norah grimaces hideously. "Poached eggs are evolving even if you aren't pregnant, but then, I never really cared for eggs; not as a breakfast dish."

"I'm the same way. I don't mind eating the occasional boiled egg if it in something like tuna salad, but to sit and eat eggs at breakfast…" Regina wrinkles her nose. "I'd rather not."

"So, not to change the subject, but I expect Hades isn't looking for a two returning to the underworld."

Regina shakes her head. "He wanted me to talk to Zeus about it. I told him to do it himself. That, all I wanted, was to go home and talk to my husband; but he bellowed and the next thing I knew…"

"You were here."

Regina nods. "I should've known better. That's exactly how it happened the first time."

"Well, not to worry. Zeus will send you home soon enough. You can tell everybody the happy news, and once they all settle down, which should take them a while, you can have a nice hot bath and a good nap."

Regina cocks her head to the side curiously. "Norah, I don't think that has ever sounded better."

 **Chapter 93: A New Story Begins**

Hanging up the phone, Robin pushes his fingers through his hair and groans in frustration. "Where is she? He needs to talk to her. It's not like her not to answer his calls or texts. Even if she can't answer right away, she customarily gets in touch within 15 minutes. She hasn't answered for more than two hours. He scowls hideously at the empty spot in the driveway where her car usually sits and forces himself to take a deep breath. She's probably fine. The woman can throw fireballs from the palm of her hand! Admittedly, his biggest problem with her current absence is that usually, when she's absent, he at least knows where she is. However, no one is answering her sister's phone either. So, right now he doesn't. He doesn't like not knowing. He doesn't like it one bloody bit. He's seen too many things go wrong out of the blue. New York isn't Storybrooke. To the best of his knowledge there's not an entire community of magical people living in secret in the big apple. Now there's a weird thought – why is that place, of all places, called the big apple? Ever since he met her, apples have sort of been synonymous with her, but not New York. He stares at the phone in his hand; glowering at it as if his frustration alone will be enough to make the damn thing ring.

"Regina, where are you?" He asks quietly. "You need to answer the phone. I need you to answer the phone."

Realizing he's talking out loud to himself and that no one is going to answer, he collapses onto the front porch step, drops his phone in agitation, and lifts his face to the sky as he shakes his head.

A few moments later, when he hears the front door open behind him and the sound of familiar feet approaching, he stows his frustration, smiling with quiet pride when his youngest son approaches, sits down on the step beside him, studies him for a moment and then makes the conscious effort to mirror his posture. Leaning back on the palms of his hands and lifting his little chin toward the sky, Roland inquires seriously, "What are we waiting for Dad? "

"Now, how do you know I'm waiting for something?"

"Cuz Daddy, this is how you look when you're waiting - sort of bored and a little grumpy. You don't like waiting. You're not very good at it."

"I'm not?"

Roland's dark eyes go wide, and he shakes his head adamantly. "What you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for the phone to ring. I'm waiting for Regina to call me back."

"is that all? Dad! She will call you back. She always does."

"I know. I just worry about her when I don't know where she is."

Roland shakes his head as he lifts one shoulder in a shrug. "Daddy, you're silly. Regina has magic, remember? She can make a scary ugly monkey disappear. Plus, she told me she would bring you back from the underworld… and she did!"

Realizing that the boy doesn't remember his own trip to New York, Robin is on the verge of telling him that there is no magic in New York when he catches himself and thinks better of it. Instead, he sighs and says "You're right. She's a big girl. She can take care of herself and then some."

Roland nods emphatically before changing the subject. "Daddy, is Henry in trouble?"

Robin squints, puzzled by the unexpected question. "No, of course not. What you ask?"

"Because it's morning. Regina said she wouldn't be back until dinner time. It's not dinner time. It's not even lunchtime, but you looked at Henry's book at breakfast, you called Regina, and now you're waiting… And you are not very good at it. She's not late. So, I don't get it. If she's not late, and Henry's not in trouble, then why is everybody waiting?"

Robin reaches over and musses his son's hair affectionately as a wide smile spreads across his face. "You're pretty smart, you know?"

Roland nods with undeniable certainty. "I know, Dad."

"How do you know?"

The boy rolls his eyes. "Daddy, my ears work good. You tell me that all the time, and so does Regina."

Robin stands up, reaching for his son's hand. "Come on. Let's go back inside and find something to do."

Roland nods agreeably as he comes to his feet.

Robin hears his gasp, but the sound doesn't fully register in his mind until he's holding the front door open and Roland doesn't pass through. Robin glances his way just as he points. "Isn't that Regina's car?"

Robin frowns, realizing that he didn't hear the car pull into the drive and that his wife is nowhere in sight. "Now where did that come from?" He asks, not really expecting an answer but Roland shrugs and provides one anyway. "It came from magic. First, it wasn't here, and now it is. It just popped here."

Robin squints. "It just popped here?"

Roland shrugs again and nods. "It was like a bubble popping, only backward. You know, when the bubble pops, it's not there anymore. It's just gone. The car wasn't there, now it is. Like a bubble popping…"

Talking quietly, more to himself than to his son, Robin nods as he steps toward the car saying "Only backward. Halfway there, he hears Roland approaching and says over his shoulder, "Wait there, Roland."

Roland scowls, stopping where he is. "Why? It's just Regina's car, Dad."

"Just wait there, son." Robin says in a tone Roland knows better than to argue with.

When Robin peers into the windows, searching for anything amiss, Roland raises an eyebrow in confusion. "I don't think she's in there, Daddy."

Before Robin can reply, a blinding flash of dry lightning out of the clear crisp December sky makes him cringe and shield his eyes. When he dares to open them, he finds his wife some 30 feet away and headed in his direction with purpose and deliberation in her stride.

He smiles. "I have been trying to call you all morning. Where have you b…" Before he can finish his question, and her arms are around him and her mouth claims his in a warm hungry greeting.

Robin breaks the kiss only long enough to murmur, "Uh…okay." and then surrenders to it once more.

Still standing a few feet from the front porch steps, Roland watches his parents and giggles before he bellows, announcing Regina's return. "She's home!" He calls loudly enough to be heard from inside the old apple barn.

Letting go of Robin, she walks over and scoops the boy up into her arms; pulling him into a warm exuberant hug and kissing his face repeatedly.

As Henry, and his grandfather step out onto the front porch smiling curiously in response to all the noise Roland is making, the squealing little boy makes a halfhearted attempt to shield himself from Regina's kisses. Scowling, and giggling at the same time, he repeats "She's home… and she's in the mood to kiss people… a lot!"

Smiling, Regina lowers Roland's feet to the ground and uses her thumb to gently rub traces of her lipstick off his face. "Sorry about that. I guess I am a little excited. Getting home this morning has been an interesting journey."

Robin nods. "It must've been. Your car showed up without you, and Roland was just reminding me that you weren't supposed to be home until later this evening."

She nods as she steps up onto the front porch and quickly hugs her father and his namesake. "Change of plans. I decided to come home earlier. What I didn't anticipate, though, was coming home from New York by way of Mount Olympus."

Robin nods again. "Hence, the dry lightning flash. But wasn't Olympus a little out of your way?"

She smiles. "It certainly was, but, I guess that's alright. I got to visit with some people, I brought home gifts for everybody, and I still got here a lot faster than I would if I had driven."

Henry inquires, "Mom, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, honey. I'm wonderful."

He smiles but raises an eyebrow. "Then why did you cut your trip short?"

"Let's go inside. I will tell you all about it." She tosses her car keys to the older of her two sons. "Look in the backseat. There are packages."

A few minutes later, when they are all gathered around the kitchen table with Henry eagerly supplying a stack of dessert plates from a nearby cabinet and passing out slices of New York pizza, he queries. "Mom, it's still warm! How did you do that?"

Regina lifts one shoulder in a shrug and smiles mysteriously. "I didn't. I was in such a hurry to get home, I forgot about your pizza. Zeus most have supplied it."

"Cool, but what was your hurry?"

Regina chuckles softly as she reaches for Robin's hand beneath the table. "Hades was making me nauseous."

Robin laughs. "Uh, yeah, we need to talk to you about that. We're fairly certain Hades wasn't the one making you nauseous."

"No, I finally figured that out…" She stops suddenly, eyeing Robin with lighthearted suspicion. "Wait… you need to talk to me about that? Why do you need to talk to me about that? How do you even know about that?"

Well, I've been trying to call you since we got up this morning. I was wondering why you weren't answering your phone. I guess now I know. Something tells me there's not great cell phone reception up there on the mountain. Henry has something to show you."

When Regina lifts a curious eyebrow, Henry holds up a finger, indicating that she should wait a moment as he trots from the room with a slice of pizza still in hand. A few seconds later he returns with his storybook and lays it open flat on the table in front of his mother.

The new page of text doesn't immediately catch her eye, but the adjoining picture on the page next to it causes her to involuntarily drop her slice of pizza back onto its plate. There, she finds an image of herself and Robin, dressed for the Enchanted Forest. The room depicted around them is hauntingly familiar, but she can't place why. A beautiful hand-carved cradle is visible in the background of a palatial nursery. Sunlight streams in through a large stained-glass window in the foreground, and she and Robin are captured for all time in what is obviously a tender moment. They gaze at each other; warmth clearly visible in their eyes as he embraces her from behind, his left arm resting protectively around an abdomen undeniably swollen with child while his right arm incircles the shoulders of a pretty dark-eyed teen that neither Robin or Regina has seen before.

Stunned motionless, it takes several seconds for Regina's hands and arms to remember how to work. When they do, she picks up the book and eagerly flips through; going first one direction and then the other. "Okay, I'm having déjà vu. This wasn't here before. I know it wasn't. I've been through this entire book. I memorized it the last time we found a page that wasn't here."

Her son smiles broadly.

"What? Did you do this?"

Henry lifts one shoulder in an easy shrug. "Who else could have? Though, to be honest, I have no memory of it."

Regina gives him a concerned frown. "You don't remember doing this?" She asks slowly, just to be certain she understands him correctly.

Henry shakes his head. "As near as I can tell, it happened in my sleep. I had the book out last night. I was feeling sort of - I don't know, pressured, I guess. I mean, am I supposed to go around the whole town observing and just writing down whatever I see? I've been trying to decide how it's supposed to work. So, last night I had the book out and I was going through it hoping that maybe the book itself would give me some kind of clue. These pages were not here. I fell asleep. I woke up this morning and they're just here. Only, I'm confused. This hasn't happened yet. Surely, I'm not supposed to write stories before they happen. I showed it to Robin, and he's been trying to call you ever since."

Regina shakes her head. "I have a feeling you're not supposed to write things before they happen, this may just be someone's sweet quirky idea of a very memorable pregnancy announcement. We'll go talk to the apprentice just to be sure. But, honestly, the story probably isn't that far ahead of reality. I still need to have the doctor confirm, just to make it official, but I'm pretty sure we're only a few months away from this." She points at the picture while she leans into Robin's embrace as his arms fold warmly around her.

Henry smiles peacefully as his grandfather chuckles softly. "I thought so."

Regina turns a curious gaze to her father. "You thought so?"

"I did. You're not the only one who's been experiencing déjà vu. You've been looking a little… droopy lately. Your mother had the exact same look about her eight months before you arrived and turned my world upside down, in inside out, and wrapped me around your little finger."

"Daddy! If you knew, why didn't you say something?"

"Not my place to. It's not the grandfather's job to make that kind of announcement. It's just not proper. That's up to the two of you."

Regina leans back in his arms, and she and Robin share a quick but tender kiss as Roland comes up onto his knees in his chair, so he can have a better look at the book in the center of the table.

Realizing that the young boy may not fully comprehend the conversation, Regina nudges the book closer to him, and for a moment he looks at the picture with confusion and then they all watch as understanding takes hold and he offers them a brilliant smile. "We're having a baby!"

Regina reaches out with a paper napkin and gently wipes pizza sauce off his chin. "Yes, sweet boy. We're having a baby!"

"Is it my sister that I heard Miss Emma and Miss Snow talking about?"

"I'm fairly sure it will be. Is that going to be okay? You're not going to be upset if you don't get a little brother, are you?"

Roland shakes his head exuberantly. "Gosh no. We got too many boys here. We need another girl."

Regina chuckles. "Most of the people you lived with the in the woods are boys."

Roland nods again with just as much enthusiasm. "Uh huh! We need more girls out there too! Daddy, when can we take her camping, and teach her to catch fish, and make a fire, and shoot bows and arrows, and swim, and climb trees?"

Robin throws his head back and laughs aloud. "Slow down there, Mi'boy. Don't you think maybe we should let her be born first?"

"Well, how long is that gonna take?"

"I'm afraid that takes a while son, but while we're waiting, you can help me get her room ready if you want to."

"She gets her own room?"

"Well, we certainly have the space. Don't you think she should have her own room after she gets here?"

"She can sleep in my room with me – unless she steals the covers, Dad. If she steals the covers, she can sleep with you!"

"Oh really? Is that so?"

"Uh huh, 'cause you kick the covers off. She can have them, that way she won't be cold."

Robin raises a doubtful eyebrow until his wife says quietly "It's true. You do kick all the covers off."

Robin shrugs. "Bloody good thing I do, because if I didn't, I wouldn't have any. You steal them all for yourself, woman."

Upon hearing this, Roland announces. "I guess we better make the baby her own room then."

Robin chuckles. "I guess we had better."

Roland looks at the picture in the storybook for a moment longer. "Where is this room at? We don't have any windows like that in this house. Do we?"

"You're right Roland." Regina smiles warmly. "We don't have any windows like this, but there is something very familiar about the room in this picture. I just can't place it."

Her father clears his throat. "It's been redecorated in this picture, but I'd still recognize this room anywhere, Regina. Your mother insisted we move you out of this room on your second birthday. It was your nursery. She insisted that nurseries were for babies, and that it was time for you to move out of yours. I could've happily left you in that room for a few more years."

"Daddy… If this is my nursery, then…" She shoots Robin a look of uncertainty.

Robin sighs and runs his fingers through his hair. "I guess we'll be taking a trip in the near future."

Regina eyes the storybook illustration and nods. "Looks that way. One more question. Who's the girl?"

Robin shrugs as he kisses her temple. "Time will tell."


End file.
